Desperation
by The Struggling Warrior
Summary: The halfas sacrificed everything to bring peace to Earth, but even that has proven to not be enough. Faced with the threat of an alien invasion which no one is prepared, eyes turn to the the ghosts for help only to find out that there is nothing left for them to give in Earth's hopeless attempts to fight a dark future that has already determined. (Fourth in Obsession Series)
1. Separated

**WARNING: The following story is the fourth in a series of books. Various things from the canon versions of both Danny Phantom and Young Justice changed throughout the events of the previous stories. If you haven't read the old stories and even have a small interest in not having everything spoiled for you, then you can go back and read all three stories. If not and you don't care about all the work that I put into them… (*goes into the corner and cries*)…Then I guess you can keep reading.**

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Two Face Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight)

* * *

Chapter 1: "Separated"

(Thursday-December 31, 2015)

In a large room filled with very unique people, a young lady sat on an old couch with a sketch pad in hand. Her striking, shoulder length white hair was pulled into a pony tail to keep the wavy locks away from her tanned skin. This gave an unobstructed view of the soft, beautiful features of her face, including her soul piercing green eyes. Below her neck, her entire body was covered in black and white mesh armor that wasn't too thick to restrict her movements. A thin, short white skirt covered the bottom part of the armor, while a large flaming DP symbol covered her chest.

"Hey, Dani," A large figure sat down beside the woman and swung an arm around her, "What cha' doing over here?"

Dani looked up from her sketch pad to see a man covered in even more armor than her. Unlike her, though, the armor was involuntary for the man. His entire body was covered in with blue and grey cybernetic armor. Even the left side of his face was covered in armor, including the left eye. The part of chocolate skin showing, or even still there, was the right side of his face, "Just doing some sketching."

"Can I ask what the sketches are?"

Dani showed him by flipping through the pages. He saw a woman covered in armor and holding a spear first. Then, there was a cloaked woman meditating in the middle of the air. Next, there was a muscular man covered in armor with a large R on his chest. Finally, there was a young boy with a tail, "New Year has me thinking on what people would have looked like if they…managed to stick around. Best wording I could think off considering some are just gone while other are…"

"Yeah…don't let M'gann see that last one, though."

Dani's eyes swept across the room to see a green skinned woman giggling next to a man that looked like a fish, "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on showing it to people."

"You showed it to me."

"Well, you asked. Plus, you're my boyfriend, Victor," Dani snorted, "Not like I would hide anything from you."

Victor bit his lip at that but quickly hid it. Dani was telling the truth in concern to her actions, "Right, but you never know with Miss M. She always has a sixth sense when people are bringing up Gar."

"Fair point," Dani flipped the page to a clean sheet of paper, "Who should I do next?"

"I think…" Victor gently squeezed her shoulder, "That you should join the party. It's not often that we get to drag Kaldur and Garth away from Atlantis anymore."

"Hmm…" Dani slowly nodded, "But no Wally…and no Joel…"

Victor sighed, "Yeah, well…I doubt anything could get Wally here, and Joel…you know how hard it is to pin him down."

"True," Dani slid the sketchbook into her armor, "Okay, you're probably right. Better enjoy the fun while we can. I was talking to Nightwing and Oracle earlier. We got missions tomorrow. You, me, and Cassie are heading to New York."

Victor frowned, "Oh really? I was hoping that I could be teamed up with Jaime more. I feel for the kid. It's got to be pretty scary getting covered in armor and not having someone to teach you."

"He's going to be with Alpha, and they're hunting Clayface. We're just doing espionage," Spirit stood up from the couch with her boyfriend, "You can argue with Nightwing if you want, but I doubt that it will do anything. Unlike Cassie, Jaime needs more battle experience instead of just patience."

"Fair enough," Victor didn't look happy by the argument, though.

"Okay, no pouting, babe," Dani floated up and kissed Victor on his cheek, "It doesn't suit you."

Victor gained an amused look, "Only a kiss on the cheek."

Dani winked at him, "Wait until midnight. I'll give you a kiss that'll knock you out."

With that, Dani walked off. Victor's smile faded as he watched her greet and hug old friends. Despite the smile on her face, it seemed like Dani was just going through the motions, "Just like always…"

* * *

The store clerk was watching him. Truth be told, he didn't blame the man. With his dark hood up and the terrible teenage half-beard he had going on, he probably looked like a degenerate. Still, it didn't change the fact that it was a mistake. There were plenty of things that he should have been paying attention to instead of him. Case and point…

A gun was thrusted in front of the clerk's face. The somewhat heavier man flinched back from the sight as the masked holder of the weapon glared at his target, "Open the cash register."

"I-I…"

"This is a stupid idea, you know."

Both the clerk and the robber turned around to face the hooded teen at the back of the store. Oddly enough, the once black hood had transformed into a more armored coat with a hood up like before the transformation. Like Dani, the teenage boy had the flaming DP symbol on his chest and also on the left side of his hood. The most striking part of the transformation was the green sword that hung from his back.

"Very few people actually use cash nowadays," the boy noted as he stepped forward from one of the aisles, "And this store is in the middle of nowhere. You'll get a few hundred bucks at most, and then probably get caught by the cops by the end of the night."

"No one asked you!" The robber, who seemed to be drunk, pointed the gun at the young man, "Now back off."

"It's not too late," The boy stated, "Put the gun away and leave. Do that, and no one will call the police. Everything will end nice and peacefully."

"Screw that! I ain't listening to some stupid kid!"

Unlike the robber, the store clerk seemed to recognize the teen, "W-Wait. H-He's…"

The boy took a step forward, "Put the gun down!"

"Like hell!"

Bang!

The bullet shot out from the gun and rammed into the teen's chest. To the robber's shock, it passed through the boy and back into a shelf at the end of the store.

The teen sighed, "No one ever chooses the peaceful options."

Panicked, the robber repeatedly shot at the teen. Despite all the bullets hitting him, the teen wasn't hurt at all. In fact, he was walking forward with a steady pace. Eventually, the click of the gun revealed that the robber was out of bullets. Shaking in fear, he threw the gun at the ghost teen. That worked just as well as the previous bullets.

Once the teen was in front of the robber, he walked through the masked man like he wasn't even there. By the time the robber could process this, the teen was behind him and was cuffing his hands behind his back. He was then shoved to the ground before his ankles were cuffed as well.

Shaking his head, the teen placed the gun he took from the robber on the counter, "Here. Call the cops and make sure they get this. Tell them that those cuffs should dissolve on their own in half an hour."

"Y-You're Dusk."

Dusk looked at the clerk for a second before sighing, "Yeah, I used to be."

"W-Why are you here?"

Dusk reached into his pocket and pulled out a can of shaving cream, "I tried the beard thing. Didn't work out. Look too much like my old man."

"N-No, I-I mean…Why are you here instead of Amity Park?"

Dusk licked his lips, "Because I'm too much of a coward to go home for the holidays."

"Coward? But you saved the world!"

"Only because I was there," Dusk looked down to the cuffed man, "Like with this. Can't be there if I'm always running, though."

The clerk didn't know how to respond to that.

Dusk placed down a couple of bills before grabbing the shaving cream and stepping towards the exit, "Have a Happy New Year, mister. That way, I'll know that at least someone will."

* * *

"3…2…1…Happy New Year," With a smile on his face, a man in a fancy suit leaned over the couch and kissed a woman dressed in purple robes. Pulling away, the man smiled causing his beard to shift upward and his long white hair to shift, "Another New Year, love."

The woman nodded. She flicked some of her golden hair out of her tanned face and then placed a hand over her large stomach, "Quite the boring one for you I suspect. No party. No champagne. Just watching the ball drop with your fat wife."

"You aren't fat, Vision," The man argued, "And you know that I love spending time with you. Parties and alcohol are not needed."

"You're sweet, Vlad," Vision giggled, "But I feel very fat and boring. Only halfway through my pregnancy, and I can't even get up on my own…"

"Is that a hint?"

"Very much so."

Chuckling, Vlad helped his wife to her feet, "Do you want me to help you upstairs?"

"No, I can do that on my own. Let me have a little bit of my dignity," Vision began to step out of the luxurious living room and into the hall, "This baby is going to be a trouble maker. I can feel it. Not even born yet, and he's putting my power on the fritz."

Vlad chuckled, "I'll be up soon, love. I just need to check up on a personal project."

"Then goodnight," Vision began to waddle up the stairs, "I'll be asleep as soon as I lie down."

"Goodnight," Vlad smiled as he watched his beloved wife walk up the steps. Once she was out of sight, Vlad dropped his smile. He walked to a wall at the end of the room and moved a picture to reveal a hand scanner. Once he placed his hand on the scanner, a computerized voice sounded out.

" **Password required**."

"Daniel, Danielle, and Joel."

" **Voice recognized. Welcome, Mr. Masters.** "

The wall moved to reveal a small elevator. Vlad stepped into the elevator which quickly went down to a lab that had been built below the manor many years ago. He stepped through the lab and ignored the organized computers and weapons that were lined across the walls. The oldest half-ghost made his way to the end of the lab where a glass cage stood.

At the center of the cage was a small being with scaly, sallow skin. It had a lean face with two horn-like extensions at the top, and pointy ears. Eyes with three pupils stared up to him.

"Computer," Vlad stared at the obvious alien, "What is the progress of the translation program?"

" **Progress at 10%.** "

"Not good enough," Vlad glared at the creature, "I don't know what you are, or what you were doing at my business meeting, but I'm going to find out. You obviously understand me, so listen to this. You're going to cooperate more or…"

Vlad walked over to a desk and grabbed a device with a spinning blade at the end, "It may not seem like it, but I have not always been so domesticated. I have a cruel side, especially to my enemies. I haven't shown that side in years, but now, you may force my hands. Because if there's going to be an alien invasion, then my wife and son are in danger."

The halfa walked to the cage and held the tool towards the trembling alien, "I'm willing to cross any line for them. Eventually, I have to hand you over to the Justice League, but before that, I want to find out everything you know. The easiest way is for you to cooperate when my computer asks you questions. If progress isn't at 25% by the time I wake up, you're going to lose more than a few fingers."

The alien looked absolutely terrified.

"And if I don't get answers in time to help what's left of my family," Vlad scowled, "I'll hand you over to the Justice League with your head separated from your body, because I'm not willing to lose anyone else that I love."

* * *

(Friday-January 1, 2016)

" _Danny, your friends have requested a meeting over a mission issue."_

A twenty year old man paused in his walk through a hallway backstage of a concert. He wore a fancy tuxedo over his fit, muscular frame. His handsome face moved into a slight frown, as he swept a hand through his slicked back hair.

Danny's blue eyes shifted around and placed a hand over his ear piece, "Not good timing. I'm about to head on stage. J.A.Z.Z., tell them that I'm busy with PR and that I'll be done in a few minutes."

" _Of course._ "

With that done, Danny placed a smile on his face and walked through the backstage area and to edge of a large stage. On a stage was a grown woman dressed in black leather. The pale skin of her shoulders along with her pierced belly button were visible to the world. Flowing blue hair moved as if it were on fire. Her soft features morphed with each word that she sang into the microphone. After a few seconds, the woman finished the song and smiled.

"Thank you! Before my next song, the creator of this shindig wants to say a few words, so give it up for the awesome Danny Fenton!"

Without hesitation, Danny stepped onto the stage and waved to the crowd. He stepped up to the woman and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. As the crowd cheered, the couple broke apart allowing Danny to step in front of the microphone. Smiling, he waited for the cheers to quiet down before speaking.

"Thank you, Ember. I'm sorry to ruin the celebration, but I came out here for two reasons. First is to wish you all a Happy New Year and give my beautiful girlfriend a kiss…"

Pause for cheers.

"Second, I wanted to thank all of you for your support in our charity event. We've reached our goal and a new homeless shelter will be up as soon as the weather permits it!"

Pause for even more cheers.

"Remember going into the new year, that everything is possible if we all work together!"

As the crowd cheered again, Danny stepped back. Ember leaned forward and whispered in his ear so that only he could hear her, "That was so cheesy."

Danny whispered back, "Everything about New Year's Eve is cheesy. I'm just using that to my benefit."

"Of course," Ember breathed haughtily into his ear, "Didn't say that I didn't love it."

Danny moved his head to kiss her again. His lips gently moved against hers, "Knock them dead."

"Like I can do this any other way, Babypop."

With that done, Danny turned and walked off the stage. Once he was out of sight from the crowd, the smile dropped into a more serious expression. He walked through the backstage area and went to his office where a large black man stood in front of him.

"Damon," Danny addressed his body guard, "No one enters for fifteen minutes."

Damon nodded and allowed Danny to step into the makeshift office. It only had a desk and a few chairs, but it would do for the concert and party. With a grunt, he stepped to the desk and sat down. Danny then reached into his pocket and pulled out Fenton Work's patented Tucker Phone. He placed it on the desk and activated its holographic features.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was busy."

" _I saw that. It's hard to believe that you've become that good with crowds and TV cameras._ "

"Practice makes perfect."

" _Indeed, my friend. It was very impressive, and you still made it in before anyone else."_

"Well, this was short notice. What did you need?"

" _Our plans are about to get underway. We must be prepared to deal with the fallout."_

"Like we always aren't," Danny snorted, "I think you just wanted to celebrate the evening."

" _And you don't?"_

"I'm saving my energy for later. The Queenpin tends to have a lot of energy after her concerts."

" _And the Phoenix can't rise to the occasion?"_

"I can, and I will," Danny chuckled. He reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of champagne, "So I suppose drinking a bit of champagne wouldn't hurt."

" _That's the spirit._ "

As Danny worked on the bottle, he glanced to the hologram, "No lecture on underage drinking?"

" _I know it would fall on deaf ears, my friend._ "

"Good point," Danny smiled, "Any idea of what the toast will be?"

" _I was thinking of letting you do it. After all, the New Year is for the youth."_

"I see…" Danny finished opening the bottle and pulled out a glass, "How about…to a fruitful new year for the Light, and to the betterment of mankind."

Vandal Savage smiled, " _I like it."_

* * *

 **Yep. Things are different. Very different. After three stories, I decided to give Vlad a role as a main character and a character arc of his own. Yeah. As for Danny, well, remember the role I mentioned at the end of Conviction? It was a villain protagonist.**

 **SURPRISE!**

 **If you're confused, just wait until next chapter. I think the explanation will satisfy most people (some people can never be pleased). Got to say, getting back into the Obsession series feels good. It's been like seven months. Wow. But I feel energized and ready to go. Here's to trying to top the three previous stories...all while wondering how Young Justice Season 3 will influence my story plans. I swear, if they do another five year time skip...**

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to…**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


	2. Discoveries

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries."

Marie Curie

* * *

Chapter 2: "Discoveries"

(Friday-January 1, 2016)

"Oh gods, this is boring."

Dani forced down the groan that threatened to slide up her throat. It was a harsh battle, but she managed to stop her agitation. She mentally chanted that she had once been impatient like that herself. Lowering the binoculars from her eyes, she looked back across the darkened rooftop to see the origin of the complaint, "Yes, Wonder Girl. We all know that stakeout duty isn't exactly fun, but it has to be done."

Wonder Girl was a fourteen year old woman with long, blonde locks. Sky blue eyes and nearly flawless features hinted at her godly heritage. While her legs were covered in red pants with white stripes, her upper body was covered by a black, sleeveless top with the familiar symbol of Wonder Woman on the front. The silver bracelets on her wrists and golden lasso at her waist also hinted at her association with the Amazonian heroine, "But can't we do anything to make the time pass faster?"

"No," Victor muttered. His right arm was spread forward to allow the listening cone and sonar to be pointed at their targeted building across the busy street in the center of New York, "We have to be quiet and as motionless as possible to avoid attracting attention to us."

Wonder Girl sighed dramatically and slumped to the concrete roof, "You know, this wasn't what I was expecting when Wonder Woman said that I would be joining a team to help train my powers, Spirit."

Upon hearing her hero name, Dani tiredly rubbed her face, "Yeah. We all went through it, Wonder Girl. Eventually, you'll be in our spot and realize how dumb your freshman expectations were, right Cyborg?"

Victor snorted, "I don't know if I'm a fair comparison. I started right around Morgaine's attack. Remember?"

Spirit sighed, "Yeah. I remember."

"Oh!" Wonder Girl's eyes lit up. "I remember that!"

"Shh," Cyborg gently warned.

"Sorry," Wonder Girl now spoke in an exaggerated whisper, "That's when the witch took control over all the ghosts, right?"

Spirit raised her binoculars once more, "Yep."

"Troia was around then. Oracle said that she, you, and the second Robin all started at the same time," Wonder Girl pursed her lips, "That sounds like an exciting time."

"Wonder Girl," Spirit's harsh tone made the younger girl look up in shock. Even Cyborg gave her a surprised look. "You'll learn quick enough that exciting times for people in vigilante work usually mean that people die. I can name three tragic deaths just from that one day. Boring is good. So let's stop talking and focus on the mission, please."

Wonder Girl deflated upon hearing that. Nevertheless, she obeyed. Cyborg continued to eye his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye before turning back to the observation of the building. There was supposed to be a sale of illegal tech going on while the police were busy dealing with New Year shenanigans. As long as everything was calm, then they would be able to keep some dangerous weapons off the street.

BOOM!

Jumping in surprise at the loud explosion, all three heroes turned to see a large cloud of smoke rising only a few blocks away from them. Cyborg frowned as he recognized the direction, "That's coming from the UN building."

"You had to jinx us," Spirit muttered dryly to Wonder Girl.

"I-I didn't mean to…"

"I'm just kidding. Probably isn't your fault," Spirit raised a hand to her earpiece, "Oracle, this is Beta squad. We have an issue. An explosion just went off in the direction of the UN building. Was there supposed to be a firework show and something went wrong?"

" _Negative. We just received word from Captain Atom that the building is under attack,"_ the voice of the former Batgirl flowed into their ears. " _Your mission has officially been changed. Head to the source of the explosion and stop whoever's behind this._ "

"Roger that," Spirit lowered her hand, "You heard her. Let's head over. Not like we're going to catch our original target now anyway. That explosion definitely would have spooked them off."

* * *

" _Dusk, I don't have a view of the area. Are you wearing the shades?"_

"Oh right," responding to the voice in his earpiece, Dusk reached into his pocket and pulled out the green sunglasses, "I forgot. It's too dark out for these."

" _You can take them off in a minute. Just let me get a full scan."_

Grunting in affirmation, Dusk slipped the darkened glasses over his glowing green eyes. As soon as he did so, the shades lit up. The various scanning devices that he had placed around the targeted area began to glow as well. The half-ghost silently waited for the machinery to do their job from his perch on top of a crane overlooking the harbor. He could barely see through the shaded glasses as the rain around him continued to pour down through the darkened night.

" _Okay. I got a visual. Let me show you."_

The once darkened glasses shifted into their VR mode. Dusk watched as the glasses showed him an image of the harbor below him. Various goons were herding women and young girls into a large metal crate. The person leading the operation was obviously the large man with thick red skin and his white hair shaped into cornrows, "Daniel Brickwell AKA Brick. Looks like he moved away from smuggling weapons."

" _Would you call this an upgrade or a downgrade?_ "

"I would call it sickening," Dusk sighed as he removed the glasses, "Sometimes, I hate people. One of those girls can't be older than six. The Arrows need to get their shit together. Their rogues are going on a tear."

" _I tried to contact Red Arrow, but…"_

"I know," Dusk shook his head, "His demons aren't our problems, though. We have our own issues to deal with. I'll take care of this, but I need you to report it to the League. I'm tired of coming out of retirement to stop this kind of stuff. Sex trafficking should be a thing under their watch."

" _Can do. Should I go ahead and call the cops?"_

Dusk took a deep breath. He clenched his trembling fingers, "Yeah. Better safe than sorry. I don't want to tempt myself to beat them to death in my free time."

" _I…I'm sorry, Dusk. I keep pulling you into this stuff. I should know better. You left Amity Park behind for a reason."_

"No, Gear," Dusk calmed himself, "You did well. Those girls don't deserve this. Best to put an end to this. Just give me one minute."

" _Okay."_

Knowing that his friend was now giving him some privacy, Dusk reached under his hoody's neck to pull out a silver locket. Clutching it in his hand, he took a deep breath, "Peace. Fighting monsters does not make me one. Don't lose control."

With one more silent remembrance of the original owner of the locket, Dusk tucked the necklace back to its place of safety. He then reached behind him to grab the hilt of a long green blade. As he unsheathed it, the rain around him seemed to flee in terror. The image of a dark knight with flaming hair appeared behind him. It was time to go to work.

* * *

Vlad stared at the screen of his phone. The translation process was at fifty percent. Good. His threat to the alien worked. Things were progressing faster than he had hoped. Soon, he would be able to properly interrogate the alien and possibly overshadow the creature. Then, he could deal with the invasion threat. Ideally, his adopted and single genetic children wouldn't have to suffer through another huge fight for the Earth.

"Vlad? Something wrong?" Danny's voice drew Vlad's attention away from his phone. The oldest halfa ignored the various machines, computers, and projects carefully organized around Axion Lab to instead focus on the previous superhero, "You look worried."

Thrusting his phone into his pocket, Vlad smiled to his protégé, "No. Of course not. Just getting an update on Vision."

Danny rolled his eyes and turned back to his stack of blueprints and project ideas on the lab table, "You need to calm down about that. All our scans show that everything about her is as healthy as can be."

"You'll understand when you're about to have a child," An aging dark skinned man with graying hair noted as he carried vials of liquid across the lab to place it by Danny, "You start to worry about every little thing."

"I'll take your word on it, Silas," Danny chuckled, "Ember and I are definitely a far bit away from thinking about that."

"That reminds me. I saw a clip of you last night," Vlad grinned, "You two looked natural on stage together. Was the kiss a message?"

"In a way," Danny shrugged, "There have been rumors forever. Might as well confirm them and get it over with. Although, I'm sure Harriet is hating having to deal with the backlash. The fanboys probably want my head on a pike."

"Considering the protection you have around you…" Silas turned his eye to the corner to see Damon Gray silently waiting for them to finish, "I wouldn't worry about it."

"I'm not," Danny looked completely relaxed, "The bodyguards are mostly for would be attackers' safety anyway. I may not have my powers, but I can still got my weapons."

A beeping from Danny's phone cut off any possible continuation of the conversation. Frowning, the former half-ghost pulled out his mobile to see a message from Harriet. Upon reading the message, Danny's look darkened. Vlad noticed the change, "Something wrong?"

"Just someone taking notice of last night's message. I knew it was coming eventually," Danny slipped the phone back in his pocket, "I'm going to have to leave a bit early."

Silas shrugged, "We're almost done anyway. I'm sure Nicolai and Serling are done cleaning up as well."

"Alright then. Have a nice weekend," Danny turned and began to walk towards the exit.

"Daniel!" Vlad called after the younger man, "Remember that we have dinner tomorrow night. Vision will be mad if you skip again."

"I'll be there!" as Danny said that, he slipped out of the room. He was immediately followed by Damon.

Vlad sighed once the door closed behind them, "He probably won't. He cancels at the last minute a lot lately."

"Well, he is a young man building his own life," Silas reasoned, "I remember being that age. The last thing I wanted to do was dinner with family."

"Yes, I understand that," Vlad rubbed his tired eyes, "At the same time, though, I wish that it didn't have to be this way. Things are just so quiet at home now."

"That will change when the baby comes," Silas joked.

"That's not what I meant," Vlad explained, "My home was once filled to the brim. Now, it seems so empty. People just kept leaving. First was all the death. Then, Daniel and Joel moved out. Now, Danielle is gone more often than she's home. I know that things are supposed to change, but I miss being surrounded by family."

Silas didn't have a response to that.

"Sorry. I shouldn't place that on you," Vlad gave Silas an apologetic look, "It's just that Vision doesn't like to bring it up, and…"

He was scared of returning to the days where he had no one. Back over six years ago, Vlad had nothing but his fortune. Until the days were Danny and Dani moved into his home, he had been so alone. The happiest time of his life was when every morning was filled with the chaotic antics of the children and their extended family. Those moments seemed so long ago now.

Silas placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's fine. I get it."

Vlad nodded, "Thank you. Now, enough of moping. I'm sure your wife probably wants you home as much as mine does with me. Let's just pack up these papers and…What exactly are these papers, anyway?"

Silas chuckled, "Oh, those are just ideas that Danny likes to write up. He never goes anywhere with them, though. Every time he pulls those out of the drawer, he scoffs and puts them back in a few minutes."

"I can see why," Vlad shook his head, "The 'Fenton Time Machine?' He should know better."

* * *

Spirit floated above the window leading into the UN Building. Cyborg floated beside her using a jetpack which sprouted out of his metal spine. They silently waited for the signal to be given to them by Wonder Girl. While waiting, they listened to the conversation between the attacker and the apparent target.

 **Translating Interlac**

"So that's how you wanna play it? Fine. Contract calls for the Main Man to put on a show for the locals. So one more time...surrender or die."

"Contract? Show?"

"Die it is."

Before the assailant could follow through on his threat, the duo outside the window heard Wonder Girl give a battle cry. The hard sound of fist meeting a skull sounded out throughout the area. It was accompanied by a shockwave so powerful that it shattered the windows below them. Taking that as their cue, they rocketed into the lavish office of the UN's Secretary General to see Wonder Girl standing over the stunned body of some strange gray skinned man.

Cyborg swiftly joined Wonder Girl while Spirit rushed to the target's side. He appeared to be an aging man of Asian descent wearing a blue suit. Once she grabbed onto the man and pulled him back, the female halfa began issuing orders to her teammates, "Wonder Girl, Cyborg, keep big, gray, and ugly busy while I get Tseng to safety."

While the duo of fighters gave grunts of affirmation, Spirit turned the man and herself intangible before rushing through the back wall and down a secret elevator shaft. Once at the bottom of the elevator shaft, she pulled him into an escape hallway before turning him tangible again.

"Oh my…" Tseng appeared disoriented by the experience.

"I know. It takes some getting used to," Spirit pushed the Secretary General forward through the hall. "But no time for being sick. We need to get you out of the battle zone."

"Y-You're Spirit," Tseng muttered while he fast walked down the metal corridor, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you, obviously," Spirit rolled her eyes. "You're lucky that we were in the area."

"T-The others?"

"They can handle the baddy for a few minutes while I get you to a panic room or something," Spirit shrugged. A sudden crash behind them caused them to turn. The same attacker from before had smashed his way down the elevator shaft. "Or not."

Pushing Tseng away with orders to flee, Spirit turned to face her enemy. He was an unnaturally massive man. His red eyes and dreadlocks only further emphasized his intimidating frame. Only armored pants and a light vest covered his muscular body. She saw that he had some kind of unorthodox weapon on his back.

"Woah? Phantasmia?" her enemy tilted his head upon getting a good look at her, "Ka re? What are the chances I'd run into one of you?"

"It's a small world," Spirit noted. "So you know who I am. Who are you exactly?"

"Hahaha! You can call me Lobo, Phantasmia fem," Lobo grinned at her. "You're lucky that the Main Man doesn't do contracts with Apokolips."

Spirit raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"The Main Man would love to shoot the stercus with someone else on those douche's most wanted list, but I got a contract to fulfill," Lobo reached over his shoulder to grab some sort of claw chain weapon, "Get out of my way or get run over like the keezy fem and stagni potes."

Frowning, Spirit pointed her fingers outward and formed energy around her hands in the shape of claws, "Just try it."

* * *

"Are all the goods loaded yet?" the giant man with red skin and a fancy, tailored suit snarled out to his hired guns.

"Yeah, Brick," one of his masked men answered, "They're all packed into the crates."

"Good. Get the crates on the boat," Brick frowned as the rain continued to pour down. "I'm getting out of here. Gonna have to get my suit dry cleaned because of this damn weather."

Sick of the circumstances, Brick began to walk away from the docks. He carefully made his way through the darkness of the night. Even with the dozens of light stands that they set up to help them see, it would be easy to slip with all the falling rain covering the concrete. Grumbling, the giant stepped up to his limo but paused when he saw that all of his tires were slashed.

"Ok! Who's the goddamn dead man that—"

Brick shut up as all of the light stands shattered in bursts of green light, leaving everyone covered in the darkness of the storm. The gunmen began to shout in panic but fortunately kept their fingers off the triggers of their guns. In a panic, the supervillain searched through his pocket for his phone. As he did this, terrified screams sounded out through docks. By the time Brick pulled his phone out and activated its flashlight, half the gunmen had been taken out.

The remaining hired goons finally activated their own lights to see their companions on the ground with their limbs covered in green chains. Two more screams drew their attention to seeing two more of the minions being trapped within the chains. Some of them had been expecting a member of the Batfamily. What they saw was perhaps even worse than that. Dusk's glowing green eyes stared hatefully at them.

Despite knowing that their guns wouldn't work on him, they opened fire at the ghost. Dusk looked at them boredly. Letting the bullets pass through his body, the youngest halfa began to walk forward while spinning Soul Shredder in one hand and gathering green energy in his other hand. He batted soldiers away with the dull side of his blade while covering the retreating enemies with globs of green ectoplasm. Within only a few minutes, the only two people left standing were Dusk and Brick.

"Well, can't say that I was expecting you," Brick mentioned. "Aren't you technically an outlaw?"

"I suppose. I'm one of the few ghosts that stayed on Earth without registering," Dusk shrugged. "Not like authorities are going to hunt me down, though. Not while I'm taking down scum like you."

Brick took off his suit jacket before rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, "So you back in the hero business?"

"No. I was just in the neighborhood," Dusk swung Soul Shredder over his shoulder, "You ready yet?"

"Yeah. I've got to hand it to you, boy," Brick rushed forward. "At least you got some manners!"

Dusk floated up and easily dodged Brick's wild swing. Knowing that the giant's endurance was too much for his attacks to actually do any damage, the halfa guided his foe through the docks towards a large puddle of water. Once Brick was standing in the water, Dusk waited until Brick threw a wild enough punch to become off balanced before hitting the villain with a green glowing kick. Just as the explosion of ectoplasm rocked against his head, Brick slipped on the puddle and tumbled onto his back.

Before he could get up, Brick froze when he felt the tip of Soul Shredder point right at his neck. He glared up at the halfa, "I know you won't kill me, boy. Don't put out threats you know you can't keep."

"It's not a threat," Dusk noted. "Before I end this, though, I have to ask you some things. Why sex trafficking? That's a whole different animal than what you've done before."

Brick sneered, "Isn't it obvious? The money was good. Besides, if I didn't do it, someone else would have. Might as well get something out of it."

"Where were they going?" Dusk questioned.

"Somewhere down in Africa. There's an auction going down there," Brick answered. "From there, I have no clue. Whoever bids the highest I guess?"

"Who are the people in charge?"

"No way, kid. I'd rather not be killed in my sleep."

"Fair enough. I just have one more question," Dusk's eyes narrowed, "What were you planning to do with the two girls in your limo?"

Brick's eyes gained a demented glint.

"I thought so," Dusk stabbed his blade forward. Brick's eyes widened in horror as Soul Shredder pierced his neck. Before he could realize that there was no blood, though, he popped out of existence. Sheathing the blade, Dusk turned towards the crates. He would just leave Brick in a dimension of fear for a little while.

With all the enemies dealt with, Dusk floated over to the nearest crate. He ripped the doors off to show the terrified women huddled together on the inside of the box. They mumbled in terror upon seeing the ghost but calmed a little once they saw the DP symbol on his clothing.

"Don't worry. I'm here to free you."

* * *

Vlad slid his hands into his pockets while he slowly dragged his eyes across the dusty room. It had been a long time since the family had visited the chamber of shrines. Either people were too busy, or the memories were too painful. The large memorial room's marble floor was covered with dozens of different stones honoring the memories of both fallen allies and enemies.

Desiree, Vortex, Klemper, Skulker, Kent Nelson, Agent Z, Scribe The Ghost Writer, Solomon Grundy, Freakshow, Red Huntress, Wulf, Spectre, Secret, Arthur Curry Jr., the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Klarion, Ocean Master, Cujo, Lady Shiva, David Cain, Doctor Fate, Jason Blood, Robin II, Joker, Clockwork, Fright Night, Aquagirl, Aquaman, Pandora, Beast Boy, Youngblood, The Black Hand, Walker, Nekron, Blue Beatle II, Artemis

"Too many names," Vlad whispered to the silent chamber. The saddest part was that more names would mostly likely join the others in time. With a shake of his head, the halfa turned to exit the memorial room. It might need to be cleaned, but he couldn't stay in there for more than a few minutes.

Upon exiting the forsaken section of the mansion, he was greeted by the empty hallways of his home. Unlike the mostly empty space behind him, the passages through the manor were spotlessly clean and decorated with the finest furnishing available. The imported carpet squished beneath his toes. Beautiful paintings hung from every wall. Despite the rich beauty of the home, the silence made Vlad's insides turn. Ever since he moved to Amity Park after the Nasty Burger Incident, there always seemed to be some commotion around the building. Yet, now, he was met with only an eerie hush.

As he passed by the abandoned rooms of long since deceased family members, Vlad remembered the times where the doors were always filled with life. He often grumbled about the noisy ways of the children. Yet, he never meant it. Noise was always better than the solitude of twenty years which he had been forced to endure after his transformation.

Unwilling to linger, Vlad rushed to his shared room with Vision. Not wanting to awaken his wife, Vlad turned intangible in order to step through the door. Like most of the mansion, the décor of their personal chamber was rich. The only major differences were the various family pictures hanging from the walls.

'Also the pillows,' Vlad mentally noted as he carefully stepped over said head cushions. 'So many pillows."

Using his ghost powers to his advantage, the halfa gently floated into his bed so that he wouldn't disturb his wife's slumber—

"You stayed up later than expected," Vision mumbled to him from her spot beside him.

Vlad sighed. Knowing that he wouldn't wake her any more than she was, he slipped an arm over her back to cuddle with her, "I went to visit the Memorial Room."

Vision was silent for a moment upon hearing that, "I see…"

"It was dusty. I'll use some duplicates to clean it tomorrow," Vlad lovingly rubbed at her extended stomach.

"What brought up this sudden visit?" Vision questioned.

"The New Year and…our child," Vlad closed his eyes, "I don't want him to suffer through the same things as the other half-ghosts have."

"He won't. We won't let him," Vision tried to sound certain, but the fatigue in her voice ruined it. He couldn't imagine the strain that growing a half-ghost in one's body involved.

"Yes. We won't. Sleep now. You need the rest," Vlad whispered gently into her ear.

"No. No, I'm…fine…" Vision's breath began to grow steady. He could easily tell that she lost the battle with slumber. Satisfied with being next to his love, Vlad steadily began to work towards his own rest. A sudden force from his wife's stomach caused his eyes to snap open. His son had just kicked! He felt like cheering! Vision had to…She was still sleeping.

Realizing that she must be exhausted, Vlad let her be. Instead, the man began to cheer in his mind about his son slowly being formed within the love of his life. Soon enough, he would be born…into a world that was about to be invaded by aliens. Would they be after the child for what he was? Would his son be raised in a battle between worlds? Would his son…No, his children…No, his entire family be killed?

"No," Vlad lightly hissed. He wouldn't let that happen. Gaining a light glow, Vlad floated up from the duplicate he left to spoon with his wife. Then, he fazed through the floor in order to head towards his secret lab. There was no way that he was going to let any of his family suffer any more at the hands of Earth's enemies. He was going to stop the alien invasion, and the first step of that was getting the information from his captive.

This time, though, he wasn't going to be so nice about it.

* * *

Spirit grunted as she was sent flying through wooden doors and into the UN's massive meeting hall. Before she crashed, she flipped around and landed on her feet before skidding to a halt. A panicked cry behind her told her that Tseng had only managed to get this far in his run. Mentally cursing, Spirit lifted up a hand to rub away the little bit of green blood that was trickling down from her nose.

Lobo hit hard, harder than any meta-human Spirit had ever fought. He caused her to bleed despite blocking the hit. What made things worse was that the claw weapon that he had been swinging around canceled out her intangibility. Add in the fact than none of her attacks seemed to even leave a mark on him, and he proved to be a juggernaut of a fighter.

The strange man clapped as he walked into the room, "The Main Man is impressed. He put one hundred percent behind that punch. Only ten percent of people across the universe can take on my full power and live."

Spirit wasn't scared. She had faced against stronger foes with worse odds. This guy was a complete unknown. There was no way to know his limits. Just one punch sent her flying. She could easily predict his movements, but there was no way to block his attacks.

Sudden movement from behind Lobo alerted Spirit that her friends had caught up to the fight. While Wonder Girl swept his legs out, Cyborg dropped pellets that created rapidly hardened foam to trap Lobo to the ground. By the time that her companions had rejoined her, Lobo had already broken free.

"It didn't even slow him down," Cyborg growled. "How do we beat him?"

"We'll figure it out as we go," Spirit glanced to Tseng. "But we can't beat him with raw power. Time for speed and tactics."

In a blur of green, Spirit separated into four different version of herself. One went over to Tseng to cover him in an ectoplasmic dome. The other two duplicates rushed forward to attack Lobo. With her copies doing as commanded, the halfa ordered her teammates to attack Lobo in a hit-and-run fashion. Spirit watched as they rushed forward and attacked. As he moved, Cyborg unleashed missiles from his shoulders to rock Lobo back. Even amongst the explosions, the massive enemy still didn't appear wounded at all.

The group of four buzzed around Lobo like flies. They rocked him with blows that kept him off balance. Just as he righted himself and was about to swipe one of them away, the others would send him staggering again. Spirit frowned as she watched the fight. No matter what they did, Lobo wasn't so much as tickled. Even Wonder Girl's demigod powered hits barely did more than lightly move his head.

Spirit's mind turned with different tactics. Trapping him wouldn't work. Blows to his neck didn't seem to affect him any more than other blows. He still seemed protective of his groin. The eyes and ears were still vulnerable.

"Okay! Wonder Girl, go low! Cyborg, eyes!" Spirit summoned her two attacking duplicates before rushing forward herself.

Wonder Girl obeyed with a massive kick to Lobo's groin. The man grunted in pain before bending over just in time for Cyborg to blast him in the eyes with his sonic canon. Knowing that Lobo would not see her coming, Spirit charged both of her hands with as much ectoplasm as she could muster. Giving a giant battle cry, she slammed her palms on either of his ears, flooding his hearing canals with burning energy.

Lobo cried out in pain while clutching at his face before falling to his knees. Tired from the attacks, the trio of heroes moved back while breathing hard. To their absolute shock, Lobo recovered within seconds. He was already back on his feet while shaking his head.

"He's not even a little hurt," Wonder Girl muttered in awe, "There's no way that he's mortal."

Spirit was at a loss for words. Lobo hadn't shown any powers that would negate the attacks. That meant that he took the deadly blows like they were bug bites. As far as she knew, only Superman could do something like that.

"She's right," Spirit nodded. Lobo couldn't be from Earth. There was no supernatural energy or technology behind his power. He was just that naturally tough. Only an alien could be like that. Then why would he be after Tseng? She needed answers. The halfa focused on her Premonition ability to read Lobo's deepest intentions.

'Recover. Get past annoying Earthlings. Capture Krolotean in disguise."

Krolotean in disguise? Spirit's eyes snapped to Tseng, who was still hidden beneath her remaining duplicate's energy field.

'Get away from Main Man. Hide secret from Earthlings.'

Spirit's eyes flashed in recognition. Ignoring her friend's questioning gazes, she rushed to Tseng and absorbed her final duplicate. Tseng began crying out for her assistance, but the halfa ignored him. Instead, she turned her hand intangible before thrusting it into Tseng's head. She then slowly dragged the arm downward before she found her target. Face twisting in rage, Spirit pulled a strange green creature out from Tseng's stomach. With a shocked look on its face, the fake Tseng tumbled to the ground lifelessly.

"You have to be kidding me," Spirit mumbled to herself. She was so distracted by the discovery that she didn't hear the warnings from her friends and Premonition about Lobo's next attack. The halfa was sent flying into the far wall before it collapsed upon her. It only took a few seconds for her to recover, but by the time she pushed through the rubble, Lobo had already grabbed the 'Krolotean,' blown open a wall to the outside, and jumped onto a floating motorcycle.

"Good fight, Phantasmia fem!" Lob called back to her as he flew up into orbit, "We should do it again some time, if you don't get killed by what's coming your way next! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

"Oh my God," Cyborg gasped. "An alien infiltrated the UN!"

"If they could get to someone so high up…" Wonder Girl grew pale. "Who else could be aliens?"

"Anyone," Spirit frowned. "It looks like things are going to get crazy again."

* * *

"Everything down there was taken care of, Gear. I left all the evidence I found with the police. Make sure that the League investigates that auction," Dusk stood on a roof overlooking the police's takeover of the docks. They were rounding up all of Brick's goons while attempting to comfort and question the women.

" _Roger that. Stay safe out there, man."_

"You too," once the connection was cut, Dusk turned around, "What are you doing here, Mal?

"Can't I come by to visit a friend?" Mal was an extremely muscular man wearing a blue hooded cloak. He stepped forward to show his silver armor and mask. In his right hand stood the famous Horn of Gabriel.

"Considering that it's been over a year since I last saw you, I'm going to say no," Dusk tilted his head to the side. "What do you want?"

"Just following the flow of the universe," Mal walked next to the halfa to examine the scene below, "Good to see that you've kept up your skills."

"Still would have appreciated some help," Dusk mentioned.

"And you will get it soon enough," Mal stated cryptically. "Tell me…what was your intention when you stabbed Brick?"

Dusk was silent.

"I see. It seems that your journey has yet to give the answers you seek," Mal hummed in thought. "Inner peace is hard to find."

"You found it in a day," Dusk muttered dryly.

"It is also hard to keep. Conflicting interests make life difficult," Mal mentioned. "Karin isn't very happy with me lately."

"Oh…Sorry," Dusk rubbed the back of his head. "You know that I'm not the best person for advice on romance, right?"

"For now," Mal looked over to Dusk, "I have a request."

"You do?"

"Indeed. I wish to accompany you to your next destination."

"Why?"

"Because that is the direction that the flow is taking me."

"Do you even know where I'm going?"

"Nope."

Dusk sighed, "I'm heading to Japan. Black Bat wanted to meet with me about something."

"Very well. I shall accompany you there," Mal nodded.

Dusk blinked, "Didn't you just say that you were having problems with your girlfriend? Shouldn't you focus on that?"

"I would, but she's busy tonight," Mal raised the Horn of Gabriel to his lips. With a quick blow, he created a blue portal which showed an opening to Tokyo, Japan, "Besides, I've learned that going with the flow of the universe often leads to the best possible outcome."

"Whatever you say, oh mighty Herald," Dusk shrugged while stepping through the portal. "But at least having you around decreases my travel time."

* * *

Vlad stared at the twitching form of the Krolotean. Yes, he finally got the species name. After memorizing as much as he could of the translation, he used his overshadowing ability to dive head first into the alien's mind. From there, it wasn't difficult at all to find the information he wanted. If any of his kids found out about this, they would have been disgusted. They were always the hero types, but Vlad never considered himself that. He was always a man that held his own interests above everything else, even morality.

Fortunately, the little pest would recover quickly enough, so he wouldn't have to listen to arguments about lobotomizing people in case others found out. Plus, he could overshadow it again for infiltration. Considering the number of teleportation stations the Kroloteans seemed to have, he might need such an advantage. It seemed as though they used the same concept as the Zeta Tubes, so it would be simple enough to sabotage some machinery and trap them for the Justice League to find.

While the solution to stopping the Kroloteans was simple, the reason behind the secret invasion was far from logical. From what this alien knew, the Light had partnered with them to gain information and footholds in the galaxy. Vlad didn't know how that would work, though. The Kroloteans had a thieving culture. They were very low in the rankings in the universe. In some ways, they were even lower than humans.

"The Light would never partner with them. Even the tech that the Kroloteans would provide would be second hand. They must be using them for something," Vlad stroked his chin in thought and looked over the notes that he put on his computer screen, "A stepping stone perhaps? But for what?"

He didn't have enough pieces to guess what the rest of the puzzle was. It was doubtful that the Kroloteans would know too much else, either. He would have to get closer to the Light to figure out their plans. If there was one really big thing that he found out, though, was that the threats from outside their solar system were far worse than he thought. The still stunned Krolotean feared many names throughout the universe. Vlad could only hope that the Light didn't draw too much attention. Especially if there was a planet out there really called Apokolips.

That was a worry for another time, though. First thing that he had to worry about was dealing with the Kroloteans. Luckily, the little thief in his lab had been acting independently to try to get a promotion. No other alien was targeting his family right now, and the Kroloteans would still try to work undetected. He had time to deal with them without anyone interfering.

A sudden buzzing from Vlad's phone directed his attention away from the computer screen. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing how many messages he was receiving at such an unusual hour. Picking up the phone, the halfa quickly realized why acquaintances were messaging him. A video of a Krolotean being unmasked had gone viral, and of course it involved his daughter.

"Damn it all to hell."

* * *

"Danny!"

Danny Fenton didn't even look up from his desk as the doors to his office were shattered with a spray of pink light. He just calmly finished his latest bit of paperwork before slowly lifting his eyes. Before him stood a woman outfitted in a purple dress over dark spandex pants. The pale skin of her shoulders and neck were exposed, leading all the way up to her heart shaped face. Slitted, pink eyes stared at him. Her magenta hair pointed into two horns made her look even more intimidating.

"Hello, Jinx," Danny greeted her with a smile. "How can I—Woah!"

Jinx grabbed him by his tie and pulled him forward, "Since when have you been a member of the Light?"

Two security guards rushed into the room. Dressed completely in armor, it was difficult to tell what they looked like, but one was obviously male while the other was female. Danny stopped them from attacking by raising a single hand.

"If you'd be willing to let go of me and take a seat, I'd be more than happy to explain," Danny carefully stated.

Huffing, Jinx released her former lover. She stepped back further into his office and took a seat on the couch. The assassin ignored the rest of the rich décor behind her. Every wall was lined with book shelves. Any empty space was taken up by schematics of old projects that Danny was obviously proud of.

"Start talking," Jinx hissed.

"Of course," Danny motioned for the guards to stand behind him. "I've been filling the Brain's place in the Light for about six months now."

"Six months!?" Jinx's energy flared. "How did I not know about this until now?"

"I asked to keep it a secret until the New Year. It would be easier for everyone if no one outside of the Light knew my identity until our plans began," Danny explained.

"So that you could interfere in Dad's plans," Jinx argued.

"No. So that I could be a surprise that the Justice League wouldn't expect," Danny shrugged.

"This has to be a joke," Jinx glared at him. "You were the biggest hero I've ever known. Everything that you ever did was for your obsession."

"My obsession? You act like I'm still a ghost," Danny frowned. "Danny Phantom's dead now. He was the hero. Fenton never was. Half of who you used to know is gone."

Jinx seemed taken aback by the hardness in his features, "It couldn't have caused this much of a change."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Remember Dark Dan?"

Jinx went pale.

"I thought so. Unlike him, though, I value humanity. It needs to be at the absolute top of the universe," Danny explain. "That's the only way for things to change. I've watched too many of the people I love die doing things the 'hero' way. It's time to get things done with the better way."

"Still, I'll need proof that you—" Jinx paused in her sentence when Danny threw her his phone. She glanced at the screen to the image. "Oh my God…"

"Did you really think that they would accept me without proof of my dedication?" Danny shrugged. "A few chickens can die as long as there are enough eggs to replace them."

Jinx stood up from the couch and slowly strode over to the desk where she placed the phone back down, "Is this really you?"

"Yes. It is."

"Then…Then why did you break my heart!" Jinx slammed her heart onto the desk, causing it to shatter. The guards jumped next to her. Before she could send them flying, the armor suddenly shattered. The man transformed into a giant humanoid beast made completely of concrete. The woman took the form of a pale banshee with white hair and hollowed cheeks. Upon seeing them, the enchantress knew better than to escalate the situation. "You broke up with me because of our difference in ideals."

Jinx's eyes widened when she felt the cold steel of a gun be pressed to the back of her head, "No. I broke up with you because your loyalty to your father was greater than your loyalty to me."

Pink eyes looked back to see Danny holding the gun. She turned back just in time to see who she thought to be the real Fenton changed into a trench coat wearing ghost with no face, "Having someone stand in your place? You really are different."

"Amorpho was never in any danger," Danny shrugged. "He was just there to prove a point."

"You knew I was coming," Jinx realized.

"Of course I did," Danny removed the gun away from her head. At the same time, Cinderblock and the Silver Banshee stepped away from her. "I know you."

"Then you know that I have to tell my father everything," Jinx turned around to face him. "What's going to stop me?"

"Well…The first thing is the last meeting we had," Danny left the threat hanging in the air. "Second…well…"

"It's me, Sugar Bits."

Jinx turned to see Ember step over the destroyed parts of the door, "Excuse me?"

Ember smirked, "Try revealing Danny's past. I dare you."

Jinx tried to do just that. Her eyes widened when her words got caught in her throat. She tried again several times before she knew that something was wrong, "What did you do to me?"

"To you specifically? Nothing. To the entire world? What I do best, pinky. Put subtle messages in my music," Ember lazily played her guitar. "Pretty symbol stuff. Love my music. Buy from Fenton Works. Never speak of Danny Fenton's secrets."

Jinx gasped, "You didn't."

"Of course I did," Ember gained a huge grin. "I support my man, just like he supports me. That's how a relationship works, sweetheart."

"But you worked with the heroes before," Jinx argued.

"I did, but I never called myself one," Ember stuck her tongue out. "I do what I want. Always have. Always will."

Jinx shook her head. There must be a way around this.

"There isn't," Danny seemed to read her thoughts. "Now, I have to ask you to leave. It's getting late, and I want to enjoy a few hours outside of work."

Obviously displeased, Jinx stormed out of the room. Just as she was about to leave, Ember whispered to her, "I warned you that this would happen."

Once Jinx had left, Ember walked over to her lover. Danny addressed his companions before getting to her, "Damon. Harriet. Amorpho. You are all dismissed. Thank you for your help."

Seeing that their work was done, Danny's enforcers left the room as well. Now alone, the couple embraced. They shared a quick kiss before pulling back. Danny smiled at her, "Thanks."

"I knew that you were worried about confronting her. I'm happy to put the last nail on the coffin," Ember looked satisfied that any possibility of Jinx stealing her man away was crushed.

Danny nodded, "With that dealt with, I can deal with the fallout of Lobo's mission without worrying."

"But that…" Ember forcefully pulled his tie so that her lips were gently pressed to his ear, "can wait until tomorrow."

Danny smiled, "Whatever you say."

* * *

 **Sorry for the bit of a delay. I've been adjusting to following the show's storyline again. This time, I'll give you a date for the next update. September 25, 2017. I will make it so.**

 **What also caused me trouble was my efforts to work on my original novel. Finished researching the publishing process to decide what I want to do. Going with self publishing. The next big step is getting a book cover. This is where I'm going to ask for help from my readers. I tried to hire a professional to create a book cover, but she never got back to me. So, I thought, why not go for some indie help? If any of you are artists, I'd like to work with you on creating a cover for Caged Demons: Entrapment. Truth be told, the design I have in mind is pretty simple, but I lack the skills to do it myself. If you're interested yourself or have a referral, respond by review or PM.**

 **Thank you for reading and please remember to...**

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	3. Kroloteans

*In honor and memory of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. November 1, 1944-September 17, 2017. The greatest manager of all time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"The astronomer will believe that the most erratic comet will yet accomplish its journey and revisit our sphere; but we give up those for lost who have not wandered one-half the distance from the center of light and life."

Charles Spurgeon

* * *

Chapter 3: "Kroloteans"

(Sunday-January 3, 2016)

Plasmius hummed to himself while he worked. Only his glowing eyes lit up the darkened container in which he hid. Undeterred, he expertly moved his hands through the wires around him to redirect their inputs. Once he was satisfied with his changes to the original makeup, the oldest half-ghost reached into a pocket to pull out a small, square box which would release a jamming signal. With his alterations complete, he turned intangible and invisible so that he could leave the machine to return to the open air.

He flew up and glanced around to make sure that none of his foes had noticed his presence. The sight of a few dozen Kroloteans continuing their work made him smirk. Despite their advanced technology, the little, green creatures didn't have the equipment to detect ghosts. None of the bases he had visited had been prepared for him. Still, he didn't want to test his luck, so he continued to fly out of the underground shelter.

Flying high into the sky, Plasmius looked back down to the forest. Everything looked completely calm. Passerbyers would never know what was happening below the dirt. It was a perfect hiding spot for the Kroloteans. In fact, most of their bases were nearly unnoticeable. He completely understood why it took another alien to uncover them to the populace. Fortunately, he caught them before the little ones could do any lasting damage.

The halfa pulled out his phone to examine the map which listed all of the locations which hosted their bases. He had already been to most of the Kroloteans Zeta pads. Fortunately, he had studied the tech enough to hack the destination. When the invaders tried to flee, they would be sent to a secret location under one of Vlad's many homes. Unfortunately, that was all he could do. Some of the bases had human hostages. If he tried to save them, then the aliens would realize what he had done.

Luckily, the League would likely intervene and save the civilians before too long. Knowing them, they would find the Zeta signals soon enough. Once that happened, everything would fall into place. Plasmius didn't exactly know what he would do with the captured aliens, but he preferred to have too many cards to use rather than too few. Still, he had to wonder about their usefulness. The Light obviously didn't care about them if they weren't prepared for ghosts.

Plasmius shook his head. No, at the very least, they would be nice sources of information for a bit. The Krolotean which he already interrogated was low ranking. Higher ranking Kroloteans might know even more about the Light's plans. After all, the Light never would have bothered with them if they had absolutely no value. Shaking his head, Plasmius turned to fly away. There was still one more base with Zeta teleportation that he had to deal with. Then, there was the issue of gathering the one left behind.

As he flew, a buzzing from his phone drew his attention to an alert. Oh, it seemed as though the League was right on track. Lifting his phone to his ear, he activated the listening bug that he hid in the League's software in order to hear their activity.

* * *

"See? See? The big alien rips open the phony Secretary Tseng and pulls out the little alien. Oh, I know what you're saying, folks. Good old G. Gordon's lost it. What's this? The eight billionth time he's run that clip? But that's because I'm trying to wake you up! Turn and look at the person next to you, my friends. How can you be sure he or she is even human? When is the old mighty Justice League going to find a way to scan for these aliens? Who exactly are they trying to protect? OK, sure Superman and the Manhunter from Mars seem to be on the side of the angels, but that's two aliens in the good column and two in the bad. Let's see if we can get some answers!"

Spirit scoffed and shut off her phone to get rid of the image of the pompous blonde in a cheap suit. As a member of the Phantom Family, she had a general distaste for most journalists. G. Gordon Godfrey held a special place in her heart, though. Ever since her brother first made a name for himself as Danny Phantom, the loudmouth wouldn't shut up about them. Sometimes, he was kind. Other times, he slandered them into the dirt. Either way, he made her skin crawl.

The positive of watching his smug face was that he was well connected and knowledgeable. He often gave useful strings of information such as the knowledge that Zatanna and Rocket were on their way to the Watchtower. Pocketing her phone, Spirit turned to the meeting which was starting, "Z and Raquel are on their way."

"Then let's get everything set up," Captain Atom declared. He was a muscular man made up of a silver suit which covered everything except his crimson boots, gloves, and eyes. "Green Lantern, if you would."

Nodding, the African American Green Lantern covered in an emerald body suit turned away from the metal hall filled with other heroes. Once able to see a clear view of the satellite base's view of the planet below them, he waved his hands to summon the video of Spirit interacting with the aliens. As he spoke, the computer called out the arrival of Zatanna and Rocket. Glancing back, Spirit got a good view of the new members of the Justice League. Zatanna was a raven haired beauty wearing a magician's outfit which did nothing to hide a body which many men across the world lusted for. While just as good looking, the darker skinned Rocket's thicker and heaver uniform hid her trained physic from the world.

"This guy, Lobo, he's an intergalactic bounty hunter. Extremely dangerous, but not likely to return." Green Lantern's words drew Spirit's attention back to the meeting. "But little guy's another story. That's a Krolotean, and Kroloteans always travel in packs.

"Meaning, more of them are on Earth," Batman growled. The Dark Knight wore his usual black cowl and cape over his gray uniform with the infamous Batsymbol and utility belt adding a bit of variation to the body suit.

"I believe my friend may have vital information on that point," the green skinned and bald headed Martian Manhunter gestured to the blonde man in a white lab coat. "Some of you have not met Adam Strange, of STAR Labs' Erdel Initiative. He is the scientist responsible for maintaining the Zeta-Beam technology we use for teleportation."

'I was wondering why a stranger was on the top secret Watchtower.'

Spirit didn't even flinch at the mental voice. She was far too used to mental conversations to react in any way other than acceptance. Her green eyes drifted over to the speaker. Superboy was an extremely handsome young man with a body that looked like it was carved out of stone. His jeans, black gloves, and long sleeve shirt hid his vigilante status. The only thing which hinted to his status was the famous shield on his chest, 'Ha. Me too. I'm surprised that I'm allowed up here even if this directly involves me.'

Before they could continue their mental conversation, Martian Manhunter spoke again, "And he has a story to tell."

Adam Strange spoke, "Uh it's a little involved I wish I had visual aids or something."

"I can assist you," Manhunter's crimson eyes began to glow. Strange flinched as he was mentally connected to the vigilantes. "We are all linked, Adam. What you remember we will see."

Strange blinked, 'Uh great? Well, I was performing a routine Zeta-Tube upgrade, when something went wrong and I found myself transported halfway across the Galaxy, to a planet called Rann. There was a scientist there, Sardath. He was conducting his own experiments in enhanced, very enhanced, Zeta-Beam technology. It took weeks to establish even basic communication. But Sardath eventually made me understand some of his Zeta tech had been stolen.'

"Fits the Krolotean M. O. Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech," Green Lantern declared.

"Sardath detected transmissions between a single location on Rann and multiple locations on Earth. He was attempting to trace those when he accidentally transported me to Rann. He gave me this." Strange showed a device which presented a holograph representation of Earth. "It detects trace of Zeta radiation and can pinpoint all the locations where Kroloteans have beamed to Earth."

"Then I'm ordering a two-prompt attack," Captain Atom stated. "We'll stage simultaneous raids on every Krolotean target on Earth, while a contingent of Leaguers travels to Rann, with Strange here, to cut the Kroloteans off at the source."

"Uh, we might have a problem with that second prompt. Totally unclear on the 'why,' but Earthlings are personae non gratae in Rann's corner of the Galaxy." Adam's holographic device shifted to show wanted posters for the founding members of the Justice League. "And these six Leaguers are wanted criminals."

"What?" a tall man once known as Robin spoke. He wore black armor with the symbol of a blue bird sprawled across his chest. His domino mask hid his eyes but not his handsome face or slicked hair. "Batman! It's the missing sixteen hours!"

Batman nodded, "Agreed. Five years ago, Vandal Savage took complete mental control of the entire Justice League. These exact six Leaguers went missing for sixteen hours.

Green Lantern eyed the holograms, "Never even occurred to us that Vandal might have sent us into space. I'll alert Hal. He and Guy are on Oa, with the Green Lantern Corps."

"Meanwhile, we have fifteen other active Leaguers to send to Rann to investigate," Captain Atom decided.

Strange shook his head, "You're not getting it. There's a planetary watch alert out on Rann for every Leaguer."

"What about Danny Phantom?" Spirit rushed forward before Nightwing could speak up. "He went missing too at that same time. Is there a watch out for him?"

"No, but um there is something for you," Adam answered.

Spirit's eyes widened, "Me? I've never even left orbit."

"Not just you," Adam shifted the hologram to show images of her, Dusk, and Plasmius. "All of Amity Park's most famous ghosts. Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with a government watch list. Sardath seemed scared when he tried to explain it, though. Something about Apokolips."

"Apokolips has them on their wanted list?" Green Lantern's eyes were wide. "And they're actually wanted alive?"

"I take it that this is bad?" Nightwing sighed.

"You have no idea," Green Lantern shook his head. "If there was ever a big bad of the universe, it would be Apokolips. Why would they want you all, though?"

"No idea," Strange shrugged. "There was a limit to what we could communicate. Based on Sardath's reaction, though, I doubt anyone on Raan would actually try and capture them, though."

"Very few people would be willing to sully their reputation by dealing with Apokolips." Green Lantern noted. "Usually, their wanted lists are just warning to not get in their way when trying kill them. Wanted alive means that they want to recruit people."

"Recruit us?" Spirit chuckled. "Good luck with that. I want to find out what this is about."

"I do too," Nightwing stepped forward. "None of Young Justice are Leaguers. Let me set up a squad with Spirit and some other members of my Team to handle the Rann end of things, and to find out more about those missing sixteen hours without causing an intergalactic incident."

Captain Atom nodded, "Do it."

Strange stopped Superboy as he tried to walk away with the other young vigilantes, "Uh if you're going, don't wear that shirt."

With a stern look on his face Superboy turned to join his friends. As they moved, Zatanna spoke up mentally, 'You know that thing about you not being Leaguers. You three still have an open invitation to—'

Spirit ignored the conversation that followed. She wasn't interested in Nightwing, Superboy, or Miss Martian's reasons for not joining the Justice League. Not everyone was given the option to even turn them down. Such was the fate of being a ghost. Despite its heroic nature, the League had to dabble in politics. Allowing ghosts in the League at this point, even with Spirit's fame, would hurt them politically at this point in time.

'Not to mention personal grudges,' Spirit thought to herself in a portion of her mind which she knew no one else could hear. 'Hate and paranoia don't ever die it seems. Ghosts can't catch a break anywhere in the universe, apparently.'

* * *

Plasmius let out a hiss as he tucked his phone away. That was just perfect. Every still functioning half-ghost was wanted by what was supposedly the greatest force in the universe. The Krolotean which he captured feared more than before anything else. He should have dug more into the topic when overshadowing the little one, but it didn't seem too significant at the time. Of course, that wasn't the case. This Apokolips place wanted to recruit them too. So many questions popped into his head. The biggest inquiry was why, though.

Why would aliens care about them? While powerful, there were still forces on Earth more dangerous than the half-ghosts. Perhaps they were interested in life after death, but if that were the case then why were the halfas specifically targeted? Did the Light use Danny to attack them like the League attacked the other planet? The ascended ectoplasm they forced him to use at the time would definitely leave an impression. Yet, there was still the issue of the bounties being for the other halfas instead of Danny Phantom.

He could only shake his head. More and more questions were presenting themselves as he continued to investigate. The only certainty that he had right now was that his family was in incredible danger. His first instinct was to contact Dani, but that would force him to reveal his bug in the League's database. There was a significant chance that he would need that later. No, it was best to leave Dani be for now. She could take care of herself for the time being.

They would need to meet seen, though. The same thing with Dusk and Danny. Plus…Vision and his unborn child. Somehow, the aliens identified that half-ghosts were different. The baby might be targeted as well. Apokolips might attempt to raise a living weapon.

"Goddamnit!" Plasmius's energy surged. The aliens were proving to be more of a threat than he thought. He needed info immediately. Capturing the Kroloteans was a fine first step. Clenching his fist, Plasmius increased his flight speed. His next steps could be decided once the little green creatures were defeated. He could only hope that the situation didn't get even worse.

* * *

Joel sighed as pocketed his phone into his dark hoody. He rubbed the right side of his forehead which had a lifetime old scar in an attempt to alleviate the headache which bubbled beneath the surface. His normal blue eyes swept from the pact city street to the man by his side. Like him, Mal had forsaken his vigilante appearance to appear in more civilian attire. While Joel's heritage gave him a look which blended in with the packed city of Tokyo, his friend easily stuck out. Many of the passer byers pointed and whispered at the sight of the buff, black man.

"What do you think they're saying?" Mal questioned.

"How am I supposed to know?" Joel shrugged. "But this is Japan. Few of them have probably seen too many black guys in real life."

Mal chuckled, "So I'm more interesting than the alien news? Should I be flattered?"

"Huh..." Joel looked away from his friend to eye the busy streets. Even more than most cities that he'd been to, Tokyo was filled to the point that it was impossible to move without bumping into someone. The constant distraction of phones and screens playing the familiar footage of Spirit revealing the alien only furthered the packed feeling of the metropolis. He was almost shocked that no one around them was getting run over in the busy streets. "I wouldn't say that interesting. A world leader turning out to be an alien, and of course it had to involve my sister."

"Your family always causes the most trouble," Mal smiled.

"I know," Joel's annoyed appearance only intensified as more people bumped into him. "Alright, I'm sick of sightseeing in the city. Let's just head to the meet up spot."

Mal hummed in though, "So you don't like city life? No wonder you left Amity Park."

"Comparing Amity Park to Tokyo is like comparing a hill to Mt. Everest," Joel shook his head. He began to lead Mal into an alleyway. "And would you stop bringing up my home?"

Mal calmly followed after the younger man, "Sorry, but I thought your family's involvement would at least peak your interest."

"It does a bit, but not enough to worry about it." Joel sighed as he stepped into the more isolated alley. "Dani's not hurt or anything, and she'd call me if she needed help. Kind of like how your girlfriend's been texting you."

Mal's eyebrows rose, "You looked at my phone?"

"No, but it's been going off every five minutes. Who else would be contacting you like that?" Joel stopped once they were halfway through the path. "You've become way too laid back, you know that?"

"And you've been more high-strung," Mal argued as he stepped next to the halfa. "That's odd considering that you went on a journey of enlightenment."

"Well, not everyone gets to Nirvana on accident," Joel barley stopped himself from snapping at the other man. "Whatever. Let's just agree to let the alien and family stuff drop for a bit. I need to meet Cassandra soon, and she always seems to know when I'm in a bad mood."

"Very well, but I don't believe that we'll be able to ignore the alien thing for long." Mal turned his gaze upward to the heavens.

"True, Cass will probably bring it up." Joel sighed.

"That's not what I meant," Mal eyes the darkening sky. "The flow of the universe has become unusually fast today."

"Sometimes, you sound like you're high," Joe pointed to shadowy spot behind a dumpster. "Come on. We can get there faster if we change."

Mal nodded. He waited to speak again until they discretely transformed into their vigilante forms and were high into the sky, "By the way, why did we have to wait so long in the city?"

"Because your teleporting killed off the day I planned to travel here. I swear, your trumpet and the Zeta Tubes spoil everyone. Normal people still need time to move around the world."

"You're not exactly normal, Dusk."

"You know what I meant."

* * *

Plasmius made quick work of the remaining Zeta platforms. The last one was perhaps the largest one. Hidden beneath a junk yard in New Orleans, the massive metal base was filled with Kroloteans. A massive green power source tube emitted a green light that reminded the halfa of horror movies. Smaller tubes branched out from the main devise in order to transfer power to the rest of the base. It really gave off the invasion feeling. Yet, once again, none of them detected him. His plans went off without a single issue.

Before he could flee and allow the Kroloteans to unknowingly teleport themselves into his grasp, he stopped when the entire base went on alert. For a brief moment, he assumed that one of them spotted him. Surprisingly, they didn't turn their attention to him. A quick glance to the screen on the main core revealed that some of the heroes from Dani's group had been spotted. The Kroloteans quickly rushed to deal with the threat.

Silently sighing, Plasmius waited to see if they would need his assistance. Fortunately, he did not need to give away his position out of obligation to his daughter's friends. They proved to be extremely efficient in combat. He recognized one of them immediately as the only member of the squad which he had met personally. Lagoon Boy was an Atlantian who would have a hard time blending in on the surface. He was covered in green scales and dark fins. His red eyes almost seemed to glow in the green light of the base.

Blue tattoos began to glow across Lagoon Boy's body. His muscles expanded to make him grow from what looked like a mutated human into a full on muscle. The 'puffer fish' mode increased his size and strength significantly. He easily batted the tiny enemies away. From what Plasmius could remember, La'gaan was somewhat of a brash young man that could often come off as rude, but he was very kind to Dusk.

The second of the trio of young heroes did look familiar to the halfa, even if they had never been in the same room before. He wore a red and black suit with three yellow rectangular fasteners on the front and a stylized yellow "R" symbol on the left side of his chest. A domino mask and clean, cut hair complimented his professional features. Dani wasn't very talkative about her friends in Young Justice anymore, but she did reveal that the third Robin had gained his role by deducting Batman's real identity.

Detective work must have been this Robin's greatest strength considering how he had been detected by the aliens, something the first Robin would never had allowed. His combat skills with his retractable staff were perfectly refined, yet lacked the raw brutality of the second Robin. Still, Plasmius felt impressed by the young man considering his lack of experience. Part of the eldest half-ghost had to wonder how Dusk would feel about having his best friend replaced like this, though.

The final member of the squad was not someone that Vlad was familiar with. Based on the black and blue armor which acted like a second skin and the massive scarab on his back, Plasmius could only assume that he was Blue Beetle. While technically the third person to use that title, he lacked any real connection to his predecessors and was a rookie by almost every standard. His suit seemed to make up for his inexperience, though. Wings burst from his scarab to gift him with flight. His hands shifted to sonic canons which easily dismissed the Kroloteans.

"Raaaaaaaaaa!" some of the aliens screamed in terror while pointing at the newest hero. The other Kroloteans took notice. Their features shifted in fear as they all turned to flee.

Plasmius's eyebrows rose. Now this was an interesting turn of events. They weren't afraid of the intimidating Lagoon Boy, yet the obviously still training Blue Beetle had them close to pissing themselves. Yet another question to answer. Luckily, this was an answer that he could find out soon enough, though. The Kroloteans rushed to Zeta off planet. With that done, he could leave the young vigilantes with a clear conscience.

Before he could retreat, though, the aliens initiated an obvious self-destruct sequence. This time, Vlad did audibly sigh. He would have to stick around to make sure that they didn't get killed. Just like he suspected, they decided to try and save the hostages. Oddly enough, Blue Beetle discovered the captured civilians by talking to a Krolotean. What took Plasmius days to do, the rookie achieved in seconds.

Once again, Plasmius was intrigued. Blue Beetle could talk to aliens. He also seemed to detect the ghost's presence based on the periodic glances in Plasmius's direction. The final oddity was the strange way in which his armor moved on its own. All signs pointed to alien technology which the Kroloteans feared. Interesting.

Fully intrigued, Plasmius followed the young heroes as they rushed to a deeper potion of the base. He watched as they rescued the terrified civilians. Their reaction to Lagoon Boy ripping open their cage, while understandable, was humorous. Upon freeing the captives, the heroes rushed them out of the base and into the water which surrounded it. Plasmius found himself being impressed by their ability to get all the normal humans free of the base's explosion.

With everyone safe, Plasmius slinked away while hidden beneath the water. Once again, Blue Beetle seemed to glance in his direction as he left. The boy did nothing to stop him, though. Plasmius had to wonder if Blue knew who he was. Once far enough away from the youngster, the halfa floated back to open air. Glancing back, Plasmius gained a good view of the remaining members of the League and Young Justice arriving the scene.

Not wanting to get caught, Vlad turned to invisibly fly away. He didn't need to see some hero back patting meeting. Still, watching the young heroes proved to be more interesting than expected. Blue Beetle was now a significant bleep on his radar.

* * *

Spirit adjusted the emergency bag on her back. With one final sigh, she glanced at her phone to see that there was no update from Joel, Danny, or her father on her departure. Vision did send a text asking her to remain safe, but that was it.

"Were you thinking about telling your family about the intergalactic bounty on them?" a feminine voice drew Spirit's attention up from her mobile. Like Martian Manhunter, this woman had green skin and wore a black body suit with a red cape. Unlike the other alien, the woman's skull was covered by a short mane of crimson hair. Miss Martian's freckles and kind features shifted with concern as she eyed the ghost.

"Not right now," Spirit pocketed her phone. "Trying to explain this over the phone without all the info would be impossible. It's not likely to be an issue in the one day that I'm gone, so I'll just wait to tell them. I was checking to see if they responded to my message that I'll be gone for a day. Well, unless I can get texts from halfway across the galaxy."

Superboy snorted, "Not likely."

"Then I guess I'm not going to see their response until I get back," Spirit turned to look down the rather unorganized laboratory to see their technician finishing adjustments to the Zeta Tube. "You ready, Strange?"

"Just about," Strange stated as he finished typing onto the keypad.

"Alright," Superboy swung his arms around to prep himself. "Any specific advice, M'gann? You're the only one to have been off world."

"From experience? Don't gawk at other worlders," Miss Martian noted. She remembered her times being flustered around the Kryptonian when they first met.

Spirit eyed the duo, "Are you two going to be okay? I mean…"

"We know what you mean," Superboy grunted. "We'll be fine."

"Yep," Miss Martian looked away. "Perfectly fine."

"Hmm," Spirit sighed. "If you say so."

"Let's just go," Superboy curtly stately.

"Yes," Miss Martian stepped forward to lead them to the Zeta Tube.

"Alright. We're all set. You'll love Raan. It's beautiful ," Strange smiled at them. "Don't worry about the air being poisonous or anything. After all, I'm perfectly fine."

"As far as you know," Spirit snorted. "Give it twenty years and then we'll see."

Upon seeing Strange's pale complexion, Miss Martian decided to have mercy on him, "She's just joking with you."

Superboy smirked, "But she might have a point."

Adam Strange rubbed the back of his head, "P-Perhaps I should get a gas mask…"

"I got you covered," Spirit reached into her bag and tossed him a gas mask. "Now, let's go."

Miss Martian raised any eyebrow, "Why did you pack that? Ghosts don't need to breath."

"I was coming prepared," Spirit nodded at her wisdom. "I watched the Alien movies. I don't want a situation like that happening."

"As half an alien, I feel insulted." Superboy playfully pushed. "But as half human, that's awesome."

Miss Martian smiled as she recognized Spirit's attempts to lighten the mood from before, "Let's just avoid telling them about movies where deadly aliens kill Earthlings. Don't want to give them any ideas."

"Ehem, on that note, we should be going," Strange stepped into the Zeta Tube. The young vigilantes followed the scientist into the tube. In a burst of yellow light, the surrounding metal shifted into a wide open area. They now stood on a Zeta pad on a slick, metal deck surrounded by purple and pink leaves. The sprawling, metal architecture leading up to pointed tops awed them as everything glowed beneath the light of the planet's two moons.

Strange smiled, "Welcome to Rann."

* * *

Vlad took a deep breath as he looked into the living room. Vision sat on the couch while reading a book. He had informed her that he would be late, but she seemed to have waited up for him. Dread filled his stomach as he tried to figure out how he would deal with this situation. His mind rushed with possibilities. The information of all the intergalactic danger surged to the front of his brain.

While the Kroloteans were captured already, he had yet to interrogate them. There were so many unknowns and threats. He doubted that he could deal with everything on his own, despite his original desire to do so. His family was in serious danger. They deserved to know, especially Vision. If Apokolips decided to go after their child…

Clenching his fists, Vlad stepped into the room. As he moved, he grabbed a chair and pulled it so that it was in front of his wife. Without hesitating, he sat down and gave his love a hard look, "I've been keeping a secret from you."

"I figured that out," Vision slid a slip of paper into her book to keep her place. "You were acting different."

"Are you mad?" Vlad felt his heart ache at the thought of worrying his wife.

Vision shook her head, "I know you, love. You would only keep secrets from me if it were something world shattering."

"It kind of is," Vlad sighed. "I didn't want to worry you. The stress of having a half-ghost…or whatever part our child will be…can't be easy on you or the baby. I wanted to try to deal with this on my own, but the threat is too large now. You deserve to know, and I think that I'll need your help."

Vision frowned, "You're that concerned? What is it?"

"Aliens."

"Aliens?"

Vlad nodded, "Aliens."

Vision sighed, "The one thing stranger than ghosts. Does it have to do with the little green man that Dani found? Because I got the feeling that the Justice League could easily handle them."

"It's not them that I'm worried about. The Kroloteans, their name by the way, are basically dealt with right now," Vlad shook his head. "Not completely, but I'm not worried about them. The Light was just using them, and there's a good chance that they'll ally themselves with a far more dangerous threat. Perhaps even one that had a direct interest in ghost/human hybrids."

Vision moved a hand to her stomach, "Is that so? What is the threat level?"

"It could be on the level of the Light's previous plans," Vlad remembered the numerous times that the Light had caused untold suffering to their family and friends. "But it could be far worse. Perhaps even to the point of rivaling Nekron…"

Vision's clenched her fist, "How do you know?"

"I bugged the League," Vlad knew that his wife would have no problem with such an actions. "Plus, I interrogated one of the Kroloteans."

Vision slowly nodded. "I understand. At least we have a starting point by having one of the aliens as a captive."

"Well…more than one."

"Oh? How many?"

"Try a few hundred."

Vision couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping her mouth, "You did all that without me knowing? Well done."

* * *

Dusk leaned back into his chair and eyed the door to the shabby apartment. Besides the seat he crafted with his Matter Make ability, the only other furniture in the tiny room were two mattresses. Mal levitated in the corner in order to meditate. The only light in the hideout besides his supernatural glow was a filthy window which only allowed the smallest slivers of brightness into the base. While he was completely certain that there was more hidden in the room, he knew better than to search for anything. Cassandra was paranoid at the best of time and would find many ways to make traps which would hurt ghosts.

Bored, he pulled out his phone to see that Cassandra was late. That was unlike her. She had always been eerily punctual. For the briefest of seconds, worry fluttered into his chest as he wondered what delayed her. Right as he began to imagine her dying at the hands of an enemy, his head whipped up in alarm. Pocketing his mobile, he pulled his chair up to the side to block the shuriken which were being thrown at her head. Upon hearing the solid thunks of the metal hitting the wood, he quickly absorbed the chair allowing the weapons to drop to the wooden floor.

Just as the seat transformed back into ectoplasm, another flash of metal swept to his head. Ducking under the blade, he unsheathed his own sword to block the follow-up attack. Giving a grunt, he pumped energy into Soul Shredder to unleash an arc of ectoplasm at his assailant. His attacker flipped over the wave and threw a few smaller knives at him. After calmly blocking the tiny blades, Dusk rushed forward to the dark figure.

The fighter pulled out a second short blade. In a blur of motion which no normal human could follow, the two fighters began a dance of sword fighting. Ignoring the clanging of metal, Mal continued to silently meditate in the corner. He only opened his eyes when the noise stopped. Both Dusk and the newcomer were holding their blades to the other's neck. With the fight finally over, he greeted the dark figure, "Hello, Black Bat. It's been a while."

With a sigh, Dusk pulled away. Once untangled from the woman, he eyed his attacker. Cassandra Cain was completely covered in black armor. The only flashes of color in her uniform were the yellow of the bat symbol on her chest and the utility belt at her waist. A dark mask with pointed ears hid all of her features. Only the white lenses at the eyes gave humanity to her face, "Really, Cass? What was that about?"

"I wanted to test your skills," Black Bat answered. "You haven't rusted at all, but you also haven't improved."

"Yeah, well not all of us like assassin training," Dusk sheathed Soul Shredder.

Black Bat scoffed, "It took you a full minute to realize that I was in the room. If I took this seriously, you would have been dead."

"You think that I went all out?" Dusk frowned. He looked to the smoking burn mark which his energy arc caused. "I can do a lot more than that."

Black Bat shrugged, "I know, but you lack the killer instinct to use it."

Dusk rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm well aware that you think that I'm the biggest hippy in the world."

Black Bat glanced to Mal, "More like second biggest."

Mal frowned, "I'm not a hippy."

"Dude," Dusk chuckled. "You talk about the flow of the universe on a regular basis. There's nothing more hippy than that."

"Hmm, fair enough."

"Not to be rude, Mal, but can you step out for a few minutes?" Black Bat questioned. "I need to speak with Joel alone."

"Very well," Mal nodded. "I have an errand to run anyway."

Dusk and Black Bat watched as Herald used his horn to create a portal. Once he disappeared and the energy faded, the halfa spoke again, "So what do you need?"

"I'm at an impasse," Black Bat sighed. "I've exhausted all of my leads and options. There is no way for me to get to Ra's Al Ghul without ending up dead."

"This again?" Dusk shook his head. "I want nothing to do with your plot to kill my father."

"Idiot!" Black Blat glared at him. "Don't you realize the position that you're in? You are the key to taking down the League of Shadows. If you would just commit to this, then Ra's could be taken down in an instant. Just agree to take his spot."

"But then I would have to kill him," Dusk frowned. "I refuse to do that. It doesn't matter if it's you or my sisters asking me. I will not kill him."

"He wants to die, moron, but only by his successor's hands. There's only three options. You, Batman, or Talia's kid. Going down the Batman path is impossible, and Ra's grandson could be worse than the Demon Head himself," Black Bat pushed the halfa back. "Like it or not, you're the only option we got. You can only run from this for so long. Especially with the Light regaining their members and power."

"They're back to full strength?" Dusk questioned.

"From the whispers that I heard, Klarion and the Brain's spots have already been filled. I don't know by whom, though," Black Bat looked to the window. "Ocean Master is likely to be replaced by Black Manta soon too. With all the positions filled, they'll start scheming again, and I think it involves the alien shit that's been on the news for the past two days."

Dusk nodded, "They would definitely have known about it at the very least."

"Look, we need to take the Light down, and not just to avenge my parents," Black Bat argued. "Look how many people suffered and died because of them. It will only get worse. We need to take down every member of their organization, and you're the only way Ra's won't be resurrected."

"Oh yeah that will solve one of the problems. What about the other six?" Dusk scoffed. "You don't even know two of them. One of them is immortal. Two of them are borderline untouchable politically, and one of them can hide in the deepest depths of the oceans."

"That's why we need to build a force specifically designed to take them down. Ravager and I aren't enough," Black Bat explained.

Dusk looked around, "Where is the psycho anyway?"

"I asked her to stay away. She would only make this harder," Black Bat admitted. "Don't change the subject."

Dusk shook his head, "Look. I get where you're coming from, but you know that this is a useless idea. Taking down the entire Light all at once is impossible."

"You're wrong. We have the pieces to take most of them down. But it all starts with you and your family," Black Bet explained.

"Of course it does," Dusk turned his back to her. "Haven't we given enough?"

"I…I know that it's not fair, but the world needs a bit more," Black Bat gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Dusk shrugged it off, "We don't have anything left, though. If it all relies on us, then we're doomed."

Before Black Bat could argue that point, she was silenced when the room began to shake. Both of them were forced to deepen their stance to avoid falling over. After a few seconds, the trembling stopped. Dusk turned to his friend with a raised eyebrow, "What did Rose do?"

"Why do you have to assume it was her?" Black Bat moved to open the window. Upon glancing out into the street, she saw smoke in the distance. "Something blew up in the city."

"Oh joy," Dusk shook his head. "Fine. Let's go investigate. We'll talk more later."

* * *

"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice," Danny smiled to his guest across the table.

The guest returned the smile. His chocolate skin was only outdone by his pure black armor. A large mantis helmet sat on the table. With his head uncovered, the graying hair and signs of wrinkles showed his entrance into his twilight years, "It was not like I had much a choice when my superior calls me for dinner."

"Superior?" Danny took a sip of wine. "I wouldn't say that. We'll be equals in the Light soon enough, Black Manta."

"Oh?" Black Manta raised an eyebrow. "Is this my formal induction into the inner folds?"

Danny chuckled, "More like informal. The decision to bring you in is almost unanimous. All you need to do is complete one last mission for us."

"Oh yes…" Manta stroked his chin. "Dealing with the Kroloteans. Not exactly a difficult task."

"Nope, but I don't like leaving things up to chance," Danny narrowed his eyes. "In a few days, the cultivation of all of the Light's plans will begin, yet we are still missing our final member. If your ascension to your role is delayed, it might cause some issues, so I wish to offer the assistance of some of my most elite guard."

"Hmm…" Black Manta took a bite of his food. "Should I feel insulted that you doubt my capabilities?"

"I wouldn't take it that way," Danny shook his head. "But I apologize if that's how you feel. I'm sure the other members of the Light feel the same way sometimes. I've far younger than most of you. My perfectionist tendencies might come off as being the arrogance of youth."

Black Manta chuckled, "Do not worry. I am flattered by your desire to help me. There are many stories about you, Daniel Fenton. Most of them imply a swift brutality to anything in your way, yet a strong loyalty to those beside you. If you are willing to off your assistance, then it must mean that you already consider me one of the Light. As a sign of alliance, I will gratefully accept any help that you can give. Truth be told, I could use an elite lieutenant…"

Danny drummed his fingers on the tabletop, "Considering that you brought it up, might I ask about a rumor concerning you? Did you really keep that spot open for you wayward son?"

Manta released a tired sigh, "Unfortunately, yes. I always hoped that one day Kaldur would join me by my side. Unfortunately, his duty to take over for the fallen king has become his life. I am proud in a way. He achieved what every one of the original Aquaman's enemies strived for with ease. Your generation is really something."

"What if he continues to stand in the Light's way?"

"…Then he will be dealt with."

"I see," Danny nodded. "I can't say that I understand the struggles of fatherhood, but I do know what it's like to want a lost family member to return despite the impossibility of it."

Manta's lips twitched, "Indeed. Very few do not know of your story, Phoenix."

"At least the beginning of it," Danny agreed. He pushed himself up from his seat and moved to the other end of the table. "The end, though, is still up in the air. I want direct control over it, unlike with the rest of my life. I'll do what I can to keep your son alive, but I don't make any promises."

"Thank you," Manta watched as the younger man extended out a hand.

"As replacements for the original members of the Light, we might feel a bit outed from the others, so I want to make it perfectly clear," Danny gave a friendly grin. "I want us to be friends along with allies. We're going to make the world a better place so families don't have to be divided anymore."

Black Manta firmly shook the hand, "Agreed. For the betterment of mankind."

"For the betterment of mankind," Danny gained a sheepish look. "Oh, and you weren't the only one that I invited tonight. I figured that you would want to meet the third replacement."

"Oh...her."

"Yes, don't worry. She grows on you. Now let's go meet Thorn. Whatever you do, though, make sure to avoid describing your role in a way that would remind her of a pirate. In fact, don't even talk about conquering the seas or Atlantis."

"Why?"

"I don't even know how to begin explaining."

* * *

 **Next Update: October 29, 2017**

 **Big thanks to jaguarspot for all of her hard work as my Beta. My appreciation for her efforts knows no limits.**

 **Going to be honest, getting this story rolling is harder than I thought it would be. After coming out of the Blackest Night storyline, setting the groundwork is really slow. Next chapter will be a bit better for me, hopefully. Then things will be a bit more interesting. One of the biggest things that still surprise me is that no one really takes notice of the dates...**

 **Yes, another pro-wrestling death. For those of you that don't care, I understand, but losing "The Brain" is a punch to the gut. One of the greatest wrestling minds ever. Period. At least he's with Gorilla Monsoon now...**

 **Do you know what I hate? Politics in my entertainment. Movies. Video games. Comic books. And now football. I am displeased. I don't care which stupid side people are on. Keep your political views out of escapism. No excuses. No arguments. Well, unless you're South Park. I think that we can all admit that's different.**

 **Thank you for reading and please remember to...**

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	4. Regrets

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."

Arthur Miller

* * *

Chapter 4: "Regrets"

(Sunday-January 3, 2016)

" _Me, huh? You sure that you want to know? Some things can't be unlearned."_

" _I'm sure it can't be that bad."_

" _Blissful ignorance. Alright, I'll tell you what my life's been like so far. First off, I'm technically six years old. You see, I wasn't born. I was cloned. The person that cloned me is my Dad, and the person that my DNA came from is my brother. The reason that I'm a girl is because half of my DNA comes from a person that died only a few weeks before my DNA was stabilized."_

" _So, you don't age like Superboy?"_

" _No. I age. I'm more of a…perfected clone. My brother allowed my Dad to use him as a catalyst for my genetic code. That's something that Superman never got the chance to do with SB. So luckily, I didn't have to stay as a little girl, although I think that would have been simpler."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _I mean…It would be nice if I could have been blissfully happy like I was back then forever, but that's not how things work for ghosts. I suppose the beginning of my journey started when I was four months old. Something called the Nocturne Incident happened."_

* * *

Spirit took a deep breath and took in the sight of Raan, "On another planet. So cool. You know, I used to want to be an astronaut. It would be so epic to live off planet."

"It is pretty epic," Miss Martian smiled.

"Right. Planet three for you," Spirit stuck her tongue out. "Lucky."

"A-dahm! A-dahm!"

The group turned to see a slender young woman with dark hair that reminded them of an elf with her pointed ears. She was humanoid in form with the only major differences being her blue lips and the blue markings below her purple eyes. Behind the young woman was an older man with a bald head. Like the girl, he had pointed ears. Unlike the female's simple clothing, he wore green goggles and a strange lab coat.

"Ol fao aeli vier qu, A-dahm!" the girl smiled brightly at the Earthling doctor.

"Um…" Strange smiled as well. "Great! I think…Zeta Squad, these are my Rannian friends. Sardath, and his daughter, Alanna."

The members of Young Justice shared a look as they heard the almost burning affection in Strange's voice when he introduced Alanna. Spirit wiggled her eyebrows to the others amusement, but they all knew better than to judge another person's love life. If anything, Strange's romantic life was the most normal out of all of them.

"Sardath-Cho, Alanna..." Strange stepped behind the heroes to introduce them. "Olf fao Miss Martian, Superboy, ul Spirit... leps Urth"

The Rannians' eyes snapped to the Phantom logo on Spirit's chest. They looked at each other before turning back. Sardath bowed, "Lam talsa, Urth-lingz. Fao A-dahm ililoc qu duss maol ao Apic-Zeta?"

All three members of Zeta Squad glanced to Strange for translation. The Earthling scientist shrugged, "I am still figuring out the language. This is usually when we start playing charades."

With a smirk, Miss Martian turned to the Rannians. Her eyes glowed green. Their hosts flinched as their minds were invaded. Alanna spoke, "What was that?"

Superboy gained a deep frown. Spirit merely looked on impassively. She didn't particularly care that her friend didn't wait for permission. It would take too long to get them to understand.

"Such an odd sensation," Sardath noted.

"Wait!" Strange rushed forward. "You're speaking English!"

"No," Miss Martian hummed happily. "But I linked us mentally. And I'm serving as a psychic translator. They speak Rannian, we speak English. But all now hear the language they understand."

Sardath's eyes lit up in excitement, "Amazing."

Alanna stepped up to Strange in enticement, "It will make communicating so much easier."

Sardath glanced to the side upon hearing what the Earthling assumed were alien sirens in the distance, "Perhaps we should take this inside. It is wise to use caution when harboring Earthlings."

The Rannians led them into the nearby building. They entered to see a large laboratory with dozens of spherical machines. Spirit spotted a strange, tiny dinosaur bird creature in the corner. She didn't know if it were a pet or an experiment, and she didn't care to ask. In the back of her mind, the halfa thought that Beast Boy would love the strange bird but swiftly crushed the thought to keep any sense of sadness from bubbling up.

"Sardath," Strange spoke to the alien as they were led into the lab. "have you learnt anything more about why earthlings are unwelcome in this corner of the Galaxy?"

"The Rannian Science Command is xenophobic in general," Sardath explained as he moved to a holographic diagram of a Zeta Platform. "Which is why my research into interplanetary zeta beam travel is being conducted quietly."

"And why you haven't reported the theft of your technology," Strange noted.

"Exactly," Sardath nodded. "If Science Command learned I had made it possible for aliens, especially you Earthlings to zeta here to Rann, the consequences could be dire for myself and my daughter."

"I still don't get it," Superboy shook his head. "Why the big hate for Earthlings? How do they even know any earthlings to hate?"

Alanna pressed down on a holographic projector to show the wanted posters for the League, "I assume Adam showed you this. We are still unclear on the details."

"Science Command is not inclined to share intelligence with its people," Sardath stated.

Alanna spoke next, "But we have learned there was an accident on the planet Rimbor involving earthling criminals knowing as the Justice League."

Sardath eyed the members of Zeta Squad, "I assume that you're not associated with these outlaws."

"We're not members of the Justice League if that's what you're asking," Spirit noted. "But what about me and my family? Do you consider us criminals?"

"Slights against Apokolips are not considered criminal acts. Although, it is not considered very intelligent either," Sardath frowned. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. None of my family has ever been off Earth until now," Spirit's eyes flickered. "Well, my brother might have. I don't know. He was…kidnapped for a time, but I get the feeling that he didn't anger them. If he did, then Apokolips probably would have attacked us a while ago."

"Fair point. Then I have no idea why Apokolips would be interested in you. Perhaps they wish to dissect you," Sardath stroked his chin in thought. "That would explain why they would want you alive and the strange term 'ghost' which keeps popping up."

"What is a 'ghost' anyway?" Alanna questioned. "My friends and I speculate on it a lot, but I'm dying to know."

"It's a term to describe hum…Earthlings who died and came back to life as ectoplasmic beings," Spirit shrugged.

"Come back to life!?" Alanna gasped. "Earthlings can do that?!"

"Some can," Spirit shrugged.

"Fascinating…" Sardath's eyes were wide. "Would you be willing to share data on the subject?"

"You'd have to talk to my family," Spirit mentioned. She glanced to Strange. "They know more than me, although I'm sure that my Dad would love to trade knowledge. Doctor Strange could be a mediator. I'm sure that he would LOVE to spend more time on your planet."

Alanna's face twisted in delight, "Perfect."

Coughing, Strange decided to direct the conversation back to the League, "That can be saved for later. You're on a mission right now."

"Ah yes," Sardath gestured back to the holograms. "Only these 6 were on Rimbor. But since then the Kroloteans have posted planetary watch alerts for every criminal in the League."

"The Kroloteans!" Strange tensed up. "That's who stole your Zeta platform tech! They used it to secretly invade Earth, which is how they found about other Leaguers."

"I know," Sardath nodded. "I told you that the last time that you were here."

"Of course!" Strange face palmed. "Kroloteans, right! I misunderstood you. I thought it was just a Rannian word for 'thief'."

"It might as well be," Alanna muttered bitterly.

Superboy stepped forward, "Yeah, Krolotean culture revolves around stolen tech. We heard. Question is what do we do about it?"

"My father's Zeta shield will help," Alanna pressed on the holographic projector again. A diagram of their planets appeared.

"If I can perfect the design," Sardath stated. "Your primitive Zeta tubes would still function within the confines of the earthling atmosphere, but unauthorized travel to and from other worlds will become impossible. In short, my shield will prevent more Kroloteans from invading your world via Zeta beam while trapping any still entrenched there."

Miss Martian spoke up, "And in the meantime Adam tells us you've located the Kroloteans' Zeta platform here on Rann?"

"Indeed," Sardath inclined his head. "But the jungles of Rann can be dangerous. You Earthlings will need a guide."

Alanna stepped forward, "I'll go, father. You must complete your work on the zeta shield."

Sardath frowned, "But transportation out of the city of Ranagar is not also without risks, Alanna. We must disguise these earthlings."

"Look, enough with this Earthlings thing," Superboy growled. "I am half-Kryptonian, and Miss Martian is...Martian!"

"You came here from Earth?" Sardath questioned. "Did you not?"

"Yeah, but…" Superboy sighed. "Never mind."

Spirit crossed her arms, "It's the same everywhere, isn't it? Even in space, you're judged by where you come from, not who you are."

* * *

Dusk floated down to the strange object which had crashed into the middle of downtown Tokyo. It seemed to be a round escape pod opened to show a thick chair. Whatever had been in the sphere was gone now. There was no sign of the person or creature outside of the crater created by the impact. The screaming public was panicking in all directions.

"This appears to be alien in origin," Black Bat silently appeared beside the ghost.

Dusk looked down to the strange tech. The panels on the inside of the pod were covered in symbols that he didn't recognize at all, "You're right. I've been to a lot of places on Earth, but none of them had anything like this. You'd think that the League would be all over this considering the flack that they're getting for the alien problem."

"This might be unrelated to the little green men…at least directly," Black Bat suggested. "The seat looks to be fitted for a larger creature. If the League is that busy, then they might not be ready for another visitor."

"Huh," Dusk shook his head. "Whatever was in here must be able to blend in, because there's no significant panic in any direction. Do you think that you can track it?"

"Perhaps, but maybe we should leave it to the authorities," Black Bat turned to face the approaching sirens. "I'd rather not have to deal with the Tokyo police force, and then the League most likely."

"Good point—" Dusk was interrupted by an explosion in the distance. "Never mind. Let's deal with this quickly."

They rushed out of the crater and down the streets to the sounds of violence. As they ran, they easily dodged the fleeing people. Right before they came into view of the trouble, a car which looked like it had been curled into a half ball came flying down to the side. Seeing the debris heading towards some civilians, Dusk rushed over and blasted the vehicle away with some ectoplasm. The group of teenagers that he saved looked to him in awe. A girl wearing a tight pony tail took steps forward to approach him, but Dusk ignored that in order to rush towards the scene of the mayhem.

Upon returning to Black Bat's side, Dusk heard the young woman say, "Of course she found the trouble. She always finds the trouble."

The halfa recognized what she meant. Out in the chaos zone was the easily recognizable form of the Ravager, Rose Wilson. She was covered completely in black and bronze armor. The only visible part of her was her long white hair flowing down her back. Twin blades shined in her hands as Ravager tried to slice her opponent in half. Rose's target blocked each of the swipes with what appeared to be thick handcuffs which completely covered the alien's hands and forearms. The stranger seemed to wear a black prison outfit which outlined a seemingly feminine form and a helmet over her head.

"Jeeze," Dusk unsheathed Soul Shredder. "Which one do we help?"

Black Bat tilted her head as she watched the alien bring her hand cuffs down to Ravager's head. While the mercenary dodged, she was still sent tumbling away as the stranger's hands smashed into the concrete and turned the surrounding street into rubble, "Well, I do owe Ravager a favor, and I doubt that you want to get on her bad side."

Dusk sighed, "Fine."

Before the alien could follow up with an attack to the downed Ravager, Black Bat rushed forward to give a sweeping kick to the stranger. To the trained assassin's surprise, the other woman didn't tumble onto her back. Instead, she floated upward to get out of the range of the duo. As she reached the height of her flight, the alien brought her arms up to swing the metal handcuffs down. Before she could finish her swipe, though, Dusk unleashed an arc of ectoplasm from his sword. The energy burst smashed into the woman and sent her flying down the street and into the side of a delivery truck.

"Oh. Hey there, Dusk. It's been a while," Ravager looked up to the ghost.

"Did you really pick a fight with an unknown alien species?" Dusk questioned.

"What? She was smashing stuff. I thought you hero types would support my jumping in," Ravager shrugged. "Plus, with all this alien controversy, I could hurt the invader as much as I want without any consequences."

"It doesn't matter now," Black Bat shook her head. "Let's just finish this quickly so we can leave—what's she doing?"

The stranger was smashing her handcuffs into cars which lined the street. Each blow crushed the vehicles with ease. While her strength was terrifying, her actions were strange. Deciding that it was best to not let her free her hands, Dusk rushed forward to finish the fight before it could begin. As he made it halfway to his enemy, the ends of the handcuffs tumbled off to free her slender hands. While her forearms were still stuck together, the alien released a satisfied hum. She pointed her palms out to the approaching Dusk.

To everyone's shock, green energy appeared in the alien's hands. Bolts of green energy burst from her palms. While Dusk was able to block the first few blasts with his sword, the number of bolts overwhelmed him and knocked him backwards in a miniature explosion. Upon recovering, the halfa flew further back to avoid getting caught up in further attacks.

While he moved back, Black Bat and Ravager snuck around the alien. Wanting to be careful in order to avoid getting caught up into any more unexpected abilities, they kept their distance by throwing shuriken and smoke bombs at the alien. Giving a roar of rage, the stranger blasted the weapons away. Disoriented by the smoke, she flew upward and unleashed a barrage of energy bolts down on her foes. The energy blasts covered the entire street in miniature explosions. All three of her foes desperately scrambled to avoid getting caught up in the deadly attack. After a full minute, the alien stopped her attack and began to pant heavily behind her helm. Despite her exhaustion, she continued to stare intently down at the now obliterated street and surrounding buildings.

Before the battle could continue, the stranger was distracted by the sound of a horn being sounded through the miniature war zone. She gave a yelp of surprise as she was pulled through a portal which took her further down the street. The alien looked back to her enemies' location to see a purple energy wall pop up between her and her foes. Giving another battle cry, the alien unleashed another barrage of energy bolts. This time, though, the energy was absorbed by the wall.

Another horn sound created a portal on the other side of the wall. Herald stepped out of the portal with another man. The newcomer was dressed in a sleeveless green and blue track suit covered in metal armor. A strange backpack covered his entire back. His feet was covered by roller skates with rockets on the sides. His facial features were hidden by a helmet a tinted face shield, but Dusk recognized him.

"Gear?"

"Hey, Dusk," Gear waved. "Herald stopped by and said that you could use some help."

Dusk looked to the larger man, "How did you know—Wait. Flow of the universe?"

"I felt the need to bring a reliable ally," Herald noted. "I did not know why, but this is an interesting scenario."

Black Bat glanced to the line of tiny sphere projectors which created the barrier, "That tech seems familiar."

"I scanned Rocket and Icon's tech. Don't tell them that I replicated it. I don't want to deal with the lecture," Gear stated.

"Well, could you take it down," Ravager pulled out a gun. "I'm going to take that freak down."

"No need," Gear glanced back to the wall to see that the alien stopped firing at the energy field. "There's a ninety-seven percent chance that she'll try to fly over the wall. Just point up."

Dusk frowned as Ravager followed Gear's suggestion, "Don't kill her."

"I won't," Ravager smirked. Upon seeing her enemy's head pop over the wall, she fired a shot. The bullet rocked against the metal helmet and shattered it. Stunned by the blow, the alien tumbled through the air. "But she's going to have one hell of a headache."

Scoffing, Black Bat threw some bola which caught the alien and trapped her limbs to limit her movements. As the stranger fell, they saw her now exposed crimson hair flair around her like a burning halo. Right before she slammed onto the ground, the alien stopped mid-air, whipped back her hair, and unleashed green energy beams from her eyes.

Dusk jumped forward and blocked the blasts with his sword. Now able to predict where the energy would come from, the halfa forced himself forward until he was right in front of his foe. He batted her upside the head and stopped her eye beams. Upon being hit, the alien tumbled to the ground. Before Dusk could follow up with his attack, he paused when he saw the once helmeted woman's face. His heart began to hammer harder as he looked upon the face of the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Her soft features and full lips were only enhanced by her orange skin. A suddenly glow from her eyes forced him out of his trance. He moved his weapon to her neck to stop her from attacking once more.

Dusk's enemy knelt before him defeated. Soul Shredder was pointed right at the strange fighter's neck. The ghoul didn't dare move his blade away from his foe's neck. The previous fight had been one of the strangest, most chaotic, and dangerous conflicts he'd had in a long time. If he gave the prisoner any room to move, it might very well be his end.

That's what he thought, at least, before he looked to his foe's eyes. While the alien's appearance had thrown him off during the fight, the strange look in his enemy's eyes made him think twice about his usual tactics.

"I see…" Dusk muttered to himself because he wasn't sure if the strange being in front of him could even understand him, "Causing all this destruction while having eyes like those…"

He instantly knew what he needed to do. Another second of thought wasn't even necessary. Dusk quickly removed his sword from his foe's throat and brought it above his head. Then, with a roar, he brought the Fright Knight's legacy down to the defeated enemy before anyone could react. Unlike his previous swings of Soul Shredder, though, he didn't intend use the weapon's special ability. No, this time, he was aiming for one clean cut.

Soul Shredder cut its target in half with ease.

All of the alien's restraints tumbled onto the broken concrete. The stranger blinked as her limbs were freed. As a show of peace, Dusk sheathed Soul Shredder and stepped back to give her some space.

"What are you doing?!" Ravager shouted.

"I don't think that she's a bad person. She's just scared," Dusk kept his eyes on the beautiful alien. "I don't know if you can understand me, but my name is Dusk. What—"

The halfa tensed as the alien lunged at him. He was prepared to blast her away with a burst of energy. Before he could, though, her lips smashed into his to create a smoldering kiss. While having experienced a kiss before, it had been extremely chaste. The current lip lock was filled with passion matching her crimson hair. Dusk froze in shock as his former foe grabbed the side of his head and forced her tongue into his mouth.

"Woooooooooo!" Ravager clapped her hands. "That boy works fast!"

"Should…we do something?" Gear questioned.

"Let's see how this plays out," Black Bat stared at the scene intently.

Herald blinked, "Are you a secret perv or something?"

"Yes she is!" Ravager shouted.

Before Black Bat could respond, the alien released Dusk. As the halfa stumbled back, she pointed at the symbol on his chest, "Dusk of the Phantom Family. As a warrior opposed to the scourge of Apokolips, you—Huh?"

Dusk tumbled onto his back.

"Critical blow," Gear noted.

Ravager let out a low whistle, "That must have been one hell of a kiss."

The alien looked to them, "You must be his allies. I am Koriand'r, previously of Tamaran. I wish to speak to the Phantom Family."

"You're an alien, right?" Black Bat questioned. "How do you know about Dusk? Also, not that we're complaining, but why did you kiss him?"

"Oh. I forgot. Earth is rumored to be uninformed," Koriand'r nodded. "There is a lot that we need to discuss. Do you have a battle cave to which we can return? It would be best to get out of the open. My jailors should be arriving soon."

Herald held up his horn, "Can do. This has to be a story that I need to hear. Before that, though, could someone get Dusk up? He seems to still be stunned."

* * *

" _The Guys in White killed Vortex once he was down. Then, they attacked our city. A friend of ours died protecting us. His name was Klemper and he was the first loved one to die. After that, we learned about the plans to kill all ghosts, so we went to war to protect ourselves. People died. I didn't know many of them besides a guy named Skulker. My brother…almost died, but he survived and ended the war by being awesome. Peace treaties were discussed from there. Things seemed to be looking up, but we had a lot of scars."_

" _Scars?"_

" _Not physical ones. Danny began to fade away from losing part of his obsession, and I was stressing over not being able to do anything to help the people I cared about. We worked on getting better for half a year. I trained and made new friends. He branched out to fix his obsession. There were setbacks, like Danny losing control over his body and then going through a traumatic training exercise, but things worked out. We even found a new family member. You know him. Dusk."_

" _What's his story?"_

" _That's…not for me to tell. Let's just say that his transformation into a ghost was more painful than most. We were happy for a while. Lots of friends and family. Hell, no one died on another massive attack to our city. At least until Freakshow showed up. We managed to stop him too, but at the cost of two good friends."_

" _I'm sorry for your losses. No offense, though, it doesn't sound that bad."_

" _No. It wasn't. For me, at least. I'm sure that Danny would argue otherwise, but I don't know everything that happened to him. What I do know, though, is that he would agree that the worst was just around the corner. The end of the Phantom Family. It started off when a ghost named Clockwork released the worst criminal the Ghost Zone has ever known. That criminal was an alternate version of my brother. We call him Dark Dan."_

* * *

Spirit carefully slumped down onto the seat of a train in order to avoid having the hood of her cloak to slip down. She was surprised that such an advanced species would use something that humans were already moving past. Part of her thought that it might be used as an excuse by the government to keep track of the citizens.

'We should be fine,' Alanna mentally told them as the train doors began to close. She was proven wrong as two armed guards forced their way into the train. 'Unless the Rannian Science Patrol comes in for routine ID checks.'

'I'll create a diversion, lead them off the train,' Strange stated.

Alanna tried to argue, 'No, it's not safe. I—'

'You are the jungle guide, remember? I'll ditch these guys and circle back to your father's compound. Help him finish the Zeta shield.'

Alanna reached over to gently grasp his hand, 'Be careful.'

Upon seeing the tender sight, the disguised Miss Martian and Superboy looked away. Spirit glanced to them. They had once been the longest lasting couple in Young Justice. She didn't know why they broke up and didn't consider it her business.

When the guards started to walk towards them, Strange leapt up and began to swing his arms around, "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!" the scientist then grasped at one of the guard's face. "Got your nose!"

Chuckling, he rushed out of the train car. With the guards right on his tails, he activated his jetpack and flew away. The group on the train watched as he left, "No time to say hello! Goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

Once the doors closed, Alanna voiced her thoughts, 'Jabberwock? Bandersnatch?'

Miss Martian shrugged, 'His last name is strange.'

Spirit gave her companions an exasperated look, 'Really? Jabberwock? A poem by Lewis Carroll? Through the Looking Glass? Neither of you know that?'

Superboy and Miss Martian stared at her.

'Sometimes I hate being the only artsy person on the Team…'

From then on, the trip was rather mundane. They waiting in silence for their train to get close to their destination. Once they were only a kilometer away from their goal, Alana stood up and readied her equipment, 'We'll be in range of the coordinates soon.'

Spirit looked out the window to see the beauty of Rann, 'I wish that Vic could have come. This planet has such a romantic view. It might have lessened his worries. Nightwing probably wanted to avoid romantic tension, though.'

'More romantic tension, you mean,' Miss Martian hissed bitterly.

Spirit looked to the ex-couple in surprised, 'I…Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad feelings. I just miss Victor.'

'We know, Spirit,' Superboy sighed. 'Let's just drop it. How much farther, Alanna?'

Alanna stopped her scrutinizing look to glance at her portable holographic device, 'We're close enough…now.'

Superboy moved to kick open the doors. While the other flew out of the train, the Kryptonian leapt out. Once in the jungle, they made their way through the foliage while avoiding anything 'too pretty.' Eventually, they made their way to a large building covered by glass windows.

'It's bigger than I anticipated,' Alanna gasped. 'How could something this size have been built without Science Command knowing about it?'

'Spirit and I will scout ahead,' Miss Martian activated her camouflage ability. 'I'll send you and image of where to rendezvous.'

Nodding, Spirit turned invisible. The two women then flew into the compound. Once inside, they saw dozens of Kroloteans working round the massive Zeta Platforms machine. Looking up, Miss Martian spotted a metal skylight. She used the telepathy to force it open, 'I found your opening.'

After the other two members of their group made their way to the top of the building, Miss Martian carefully floated them down into the shadows. 'Six Zeta Platform?'

'Not for long,' Superboy opened a box to show tiny bombs. 'These are small target explosives. Should permanently disable the platforms without blowing the whole base before the Kroloteans know what hit 'em.'

'Spirit and I will place them. You two wait here,' Miss Martian noted. With the aid of their invisibility and camouflage, the two women easily placed the bombs below the platforms without anyone noticing them.

'Done,' Spirit stated once the final bomb was placed. 'Let's get out of here.'

Before they could move, though, a small alarm went off. For a brief moment, Spirit wondered if one of them were spotted. This was proven wrong when the machine's antenna began to raise. It moved through the sky light to block off their exit.

'The escape route's blocked, we're trapped inside with the bombs!' Alanna shouted.

'Don't worry. We have a plan b,' Superboy mentioned. 'Spirit, a little help?'

'On it,' Spirit rushed to the duo. As she moved, she created a duplicate. The two invisible copies grabbed onto the flightless aliens and turned them invisible as well. They then flew up and towards the nearest wall. Before they exited the base, Spirit turned back to see chaos as nothing appeared on the Zeta Platforms.

Once free from the building, they made their way back into the jungle. Spirit freed her companions and absorbed the duplicate. Alanna stared at the ghost in shock as Miss Martian joined them, 'What was that?'

'My duplicate passed on its visibility combined with intangibility onto you for a few seconds,' Spirit explained.

'Why didn't you just use that to get in?'

'We've learned to always have a physical escape route just in case of energy barriers,' Superboy explained.

Alanna looked at Spirit with a bit of fear, 'What other powers do you have?'

'Ectoplasmic blasts. Energy blades. Super strength. Oh, and overshadowing.'

'Overshadowing?' Alanna shook her fear. 'No wonder Apokolips wants you. Do you know how much damage you could do to the universe with that ability alone?'

'Don't worry. I've known them forever. They rarely use that power because they consider it morally wrong to invade people's minds without permission,' Superboy explained. He left a hint that he wanted to add something else to his sentence. This caused Miss Martian to stiffen.

Before the conversation could continue, the bombs went off inside the base. All eye turned to the compound. Even from their distance, they could see the smoke from the fallout drifting into the air. Muffled shouts of the Kroloteans could be heard trying to deal with the fallout.

Miss Martian shook her head, 'We're done here. Let's head back.'

'Wait,' Spirit raised a hand. 'Something was wrong in there. No one showed up during the Zeta process.'

'It's a perfect excuse for us,' Superboy argued. 'They'll suspect a malfunction. No way they'll look for us.'

'Yes, but we didn't do anything to stop the Zeta process. Why didn't even one of them show up?' Alanna questioned.

'Maybe the teams on Earth stopped them?' Miss Martian suggested.

'All of them?' Superboy shook his head. 'We're never that lucky.'

'Yeah. Something's wrong,' Spirit stared at the base. 'I want to figure out what.'

'That's not our mission,' Miss Martian noted.

'No, but when did that ever stop us?' Spirit questioned.

Miss Martian chuckled, 'Good point. What do you want to do?'

'They're weakened and confused,' Spirit stated. 'Perfect for picking up some captives for interrogation.'

'I won't be able to read their minds,' Miss Martian mentioned. 'They're too…different.'

'We can figure it out.' Spirit shook her head. 'If they're really the universe's thieves, then they should have plenty of info. They'll know why Apokolips is after my family.'

Superboy sighed, 'Do you have a plan?'

'Yeah,' Spirit's eyes began to glow brightly, 'Give me the go, and I'll finish this.'

Miss Martian nodded, 'Do it.'

* * *

"I was expecting more," Koriand'r glanced around the rundown apartment building. "Considering your impressive battle prowess, you should have a large battle cave."

"I agree," Ravager nodded. "But such is the life of an outlaw, Koriab...Koriannie...Err…"

"If it helps, the literal translation of my name in your language is Starfire," Koriand'r noted.

"Starfire," Dusk shifted uncomfortably. "Why, um, did you kiss me?"

"Kiss? Oh yes. My species is capable of learning new languages through lip contact," Starfire explained.

"Really?" Gear's eyes lit up. "How does that work exactly? Is it some type of transfer of nerve pulses involving muscle memory? Is the French style important?"

"What is this…French style?" Starfire questioned.

"Using your tongue," Black Bat clarified. "You really shoved it in there. For a second, I thought that you were trying to kill him by pushing your tongue through the back of his head."

Dusk frowned at his old friend, "Really?"

Black Bat shrugged.

"I take it that the 'French kiss' is rather personal in Earth culture?" Starfire tilted her head. "While technically not necessary, some of my people think that tongue contact helps correct incorrect dialect. My apologies if I projected an inappropriate meaning."

"No. Let's just forget about it," Dusk sighed. "There's more important things to address. You look like a prisoner. I have two questions. Who was holding you, and why were they doing it?"

Before Starfire could answer, a loud booming voice shook the ground, " **Weaklings of Earth, do not panic. We are not here for any of you.** "

Upon hearing the projected voice, everyone in the room shared a concerned look. They rushed to the windows and peeked though the boards blocking their view. A large floating spacecraft with a slick cruiser design hovered above the city. An energy field burst off the top of the vehicle and covered Tokyo in a massive dome.

" **We are of the Citadel. While I know that your tiny brains know nothing of us, you should be cautious of us. Our power is far greater than your puny military strength. Fortunately for you, our sights are not set on you. A possession of ours has crashed into your city, and we wish to retrieve it. Do not get in our way and do not aide our slave. If you obey these simple commands, none of you will be harmed. Once we are done, you may go back to you insignificant lives.** "

All eyes turned to Starfire. Herald was the first one to speak, "Possession?"

"I was given to the Citadel by my…people as a gesture of alliance," Starfire explained. "I managed to escape, but I had nowhere to go. The only thing that I could think of would be go to a planet that wouldn't immediately turn me away or give me back to the Citadel. Earth seemed like a good temporary choice considering how isolated it is for now. The Citadel seems to have their sights on the Phantom Family considering how close my navigation landed to you."

"Why would the Citadel be interested me?" Dusk questioned.

"They might want to ally with Apokolips," Starfire blinked. "You do know that you're wanted by them, no?"

"No," Dusk gained a deep frown. "That's news to me."

"Is it just Dusk that's wanted?" Herald questioned.

"You mean from Earth? No. Everyone associated with that symbol is wanted by Apokolips," Starfire pointed to the Phantom logo on his chest. "Oh and the Justice League is wanted by a few intergalactic governments."

Once again, everyone else in the room shared concerned looks. Ravager let out a low whistle, "I think that we've been out of the loop for too long."

"You're right," Black Bat nodded. "I don't like not knowing something so important. Did Bumblebee mention this to you, Herald?"

"She never brought it up…" Herald stroked his chin in thought.

"We have a valuable source of information right now, though," Gear pointed at the alien in the room.

"I am not very knowledgeable on the current politics of the universe," Starfire noted. "But I'm willing to help as much as I can for assistance."

"There's still the problem of the…Citadel," Dusk noted. "Herald could teleport us out of here, but that would leave the city unprotected. What are the chances that the invaders will get frustrated and start attacking civilians?"

Starfire raised an eyebrow, "Citadelians are known as the cruelest people in the galaxy. It's only a matter of time before they start attacking the weak masses for their own amusement."

Dusk sighed, "Then we have to stop them. It's only a matter of time before the League gets here, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just let people get hurt."

"Fighting aliens?" Ravager's hands twitched to her swords. "Sounds like a good challenge."

"You want to fight the Citadel?" Starfire questioned.

Black Bat sighed, "Not like we have much of a choice. Are you in?"

"You kidding?" Starfire cracked her knuckles. "I would love to kick the glorthlocs out of them after everything that they put me through."

"That sounds brutal," Gear shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not good at fighting, but I can't just stand by. Backpack, load the images from the cameras in the city."

The backpack on the tech guru's shifted. A long laser head extended from the metal. With a small buzz, the machine unleashed holographic images of the city. They all gained the sight of strange gorilla creatures moving through the cities.

"Um, when did you do this?" Herald questioned.

"I got bored while you were talking. Sorry, but I do think about one hundred times faster than a supercomputer," Gear explained. "I hacked into the city's mainframe by giving a mental signal to Backpack. No big deal."

"Geeze," Ravager gave him a weary look. "Remind me to turn off my phone around you."

Gear shrugged, "Too late."

* * *

" _It was less than one year. One catastrophe after another. It would take too long to explain the context of each situation, but they were all terrible. So many people died. I…loved all of them in some way. Brothers. Sisters. Teachers. Best friends. So many people. By the end of it, my family was no more. You know how only three of us are wanted by Apokolips? Well, there used to be a lot more active members of us. A…whole lot more. I even lost my brother, the one that I was cloned from. He was…everything to me."_

 _Alanna looked away, "I'm sorry."_

" _Don't be. It's not your fault, and I think about it a lot anyway," Spirit took a deep breath to stop the stinging in her eyes. "I tried so hard to save everyone, but I couldn't do it. Those that I did manage to save just ended up leaving. Even the one I gave this up for."_

 _The halfa reached down to pull down her right boot down to expose a metal leg._

" _You…lost your leg?" Alanna grew pale._

" _It was worth it, but…" Spirit fixed her boot. "On the same day, I lost the pet I had my entire life."_

" _Gods have mercy," Alanna shook her head._

" _Yeah. I've lost a lot, and I'll probably keep losing more. Such is the life of a ghost. That's what makes things hard. Eventually, everyone is going to leave me. It's so hard to feel emotionally attached. I'm getting a new little brother soon, and I don't feel excited. I have an amazing boyfriend that I love, but I can't feel passionate about it. Six years of life feels like six hundred. And I can't help but wonder…"_

" _Wonder what?"_

" _When was it exactly? When was it that I started hating being a superhero?"_

* * *

Spirit dropped the tied up Krolotean to the ground, 'That's the last one.'

Superboy eyed the pile of knocked out aliens, 'You sure?'

'Yeah, I checked everywhere,' Spirit nodded. 'That base is empty.'

'Good,' Miss Martian eyed a Krolotean with a high ranking sash. 'We can go now.'

'No,' Spirit turned away from them and began to walk back to the base. 'If aliens are after us, then I want to send a message.'

'What do you mean?' Alanna questioned.

'I mean, they need to know that we can kill them if need be,' Spirit spoke her next words out loud. "Cover your ears."

"What?" Superboy's eyes widened. He watched as the other clone took a deep stance and took a deep breath. "Everyone down!"

The Kryptonian grabbed Alanna and pulled her to the ground. Miss Martian mirrored his action. They all desperately clutched at their ears. Knowing that her companions were ready, Spirit let out her breath in the form of the wail of death.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

Physical, green sound waves burst from the halfa's mouth. Everything began to tremble as the ectoplasm attack spread throughout the area. While all the organic beings in the area groaned in agony, the base before Spirit began to crumble. Within seconds, the already injured base tumbled over to leave a pile of rubble. Once her target was destroyed, the halfa stopped her yell to collapse to her knees while gasping for air.

"Holy shit," Superboy pushed himself up. "Since when could you do that?"

"For…a few…months," Spirit gasped. "I…need a full tank to do it, though. Danny…could handle it better."

"It's still impressive," M'gann noted.

Alanna stared in fear at the most terrifying creature that she ever witnessed. She scrambled backward to gain some distance from the ghost. Spirit ignored her actions. Instead, she slammed her fingers into the dirt to draw the Phantom logo, "Now they'll know. This is what will happen if they come for my family."

* * *

The roar of a horn sounded through the hanger of the space ship. Hairy gorilla resembling aliens turned to see a blur rip in space appear at the end of the metal room. Some of them moved from the resting hover vehicles lining the wall to check on the strange portal. Without waiting to see what would come out, the Citadelians lifted their laser rifles and opened fire into the unknown. Their actions had little effect, but they refused to stop their shooting until several tiny spheres passed through the portal.

Upon making contact with the ground, some of the tiny orbs released smoke which hid the portal from sight. The other spheres gained tiny springs at the bottom of them and jumped onto the nearest alien. Once Gear's tech made contact with a Citadelian, it released an electric burst which stunned them. Having seen some of their comrades getting taken down, the remaining ape creatures rushed to deal with the threat. Before they could get to the portal, though, two of the guards on either side of the hanger were pulled into the shadows while screaming in terror.

Distracted by the sneak attacks by Black Bat and Ravager, the Citadel warriors couldn't stop Starfire and Dusk from rushing out of the portal. They attacked the much larger creatures with glowing fists and sent several of them flying away. With the hardest hitters now the focus of attention, the remaining members of the squad rushed in to back up the frontline fighters. While the ladies with no superhuman abilities used their weapons and martial arts skills to beat down their foes, the superhuman Gear and Herald showed their lack of killer instinct by trapping the aliens in wire and teleporting them away.

Within a few short minutes, the hanger was empty. Flashing lights and loud alarms signaled that the remaining aliens were alerted to their presence. Herald nodded at that, "The scouts should come running back now."

"We'll be surrounded when they do, though," Black Bat argued. "We need to hurry with the plan before we get overwhelmed. Come on, Rookie."

"Err, I don't know if—Woah!" Gear shouted in shock as the woman grabbed him and dragged him into the shadows.

Starfire frowned up seeing Gear's nervousness, "Will he be okay?"

"Bat's with him. He'll be fine as long as he does what she says and keeps his stealth tech on," Ravager reached down to grab onto one of the laser rifles. "Hello, beautiful. Alien guns. A whole new world has opened up to me."

"Until they finish, we need to keep attention off of them," Dusk glanced to Starfire. "You know your way around the ship somewhat, right? You think that you could lead us to the bridge?"

Starfire nodded as she floated up in the air, "Follow me."

Together, the group of four charged down the metal hallways of the ship without an ounce of discretion. Each foe they ran into was quickly defeated by Starfire's rage filled energy bolts. They quickly ran into a squadron of Citadel warriors pointing their rifles at the three Earthlings and one Tamaranian. Before the invaders could open fire down the hallway, they were covered in a barrage of energy bullets themselves. The shots literally rained down from the ceiling as Ravager shot into a portal created by Herald.

"Don't worry, Dusk. Your stupid soft skinned morality should be fine," Ravager kicked one of the obviously still breathing aliens. "Looks like they set their phasers to stun. Probably wanted their slave back alive. Too bad. Now I'll have to figure out how to make my new toy lethal."

Starfire frowned, "You care about their safety? They are the enemy, you know."

"I'm well aware," Dusk ignored the stare in favor of continuing down the hall. "That doesn't mean that they don't deserve to be treated like sentient beings."

With backup enemies arriving, they had no time to continue the conversation. Starfire continued to guide them through the space ship. As they moved, the scouts from the city returned to chase them through the halls. They refused to stop their charge, but Dusk did manage to slow their pursuers by turning the floor behind them intangible for a few brief moments.

In a few minutes, the makeshift fighting force moved from the dark hallways into a large control room filled with chairs in front of panels. Every seat was abandoned as the Citadel fighters were standing and pointing their guns at the entrance. At the center of the bridge was a gorilla creature which was twice as big as his underlings.

"What is this?" the captain sneered at them. "Have the Earthlings finally grown some flimbles?"

* * *

Spirit looked out the window to stare at the moon hovering over Rann. They had returned to Sardath's home with the leader Krolotean. Strange and Sardath were still in the middle of working on the Zeta Shield, and Miss Martian was interrogating their captive. While she waited for the word to teleport home, Spirit rested and enjoyed the sights of the alien planet.

"Um…Excuse me?"

Spirit looked over her shoulder to see Alanna fidgeting behind her, "Hey."

"C-Can I sit down?" Alanna gestured to the chair next to Spirit.

The halfa shrugged, "Sure, but I'm surprised that you'd want to. You looked pretty terrified before."

"Yes, I won't deny that," Alanna took her seat. "You have to admit, what you can do is pretty scary, though."

"I know," Spirit nodded. "That's why I'm not bitter towards humans…Earthlings…whatever. If I were powerless, then I would be scared too. Not only do I remind people of their own mortality, but I'm more powerful than most people could ever be."

"You…don't seem like a bad person, though," Alanna reasoned. "You made sure to keep the Kroloteans safe. That's more than most people with your power would do."

"Yeah. I try to be responsible with my powers," Spirit turned her eyes back to the moon.

"I spoke with Superboy," Alanna mentioned. "While I need to keep some things silent, there are some things that he mentioned about you that I have some questions about. What was your life like? What's it like to live after death?"

Spirit shook her head, "You don't want to know that."

"Yes, I do," Alanna nodded. "I think that it would help me get over my fear. You don't have to say everything, but I want to know about you. Who is the girl wanted by Apokolips?"

"Me, huh? You sure that you want to know? Some things can't be unlearned."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad."

* * *

Dusk looked over to Starfire, "What are flimbles?"

"Genitals."

"Oh," Dusk moved his eyes back to the captain. "Why do you think that we don't have balls?"

"Are you kidding?!" the captain scoffed. "A random attack on some weaklings and then you disappear for five years."

"Five years?" Ravager shook her head. "Dude, we were all brats five years ago. Well, more of a brat in my case. But still, none of us could have attacked you."

"Ah…" the Citadel leader narrowed his eyes. "So the Justice League kept it secret, even from such great fighters. Interesting."

"This confirms that he knows why the League is wanted," Herald noted.

"What about me?" Dusk questioned. "Do you know why I'm wanted?"

"You think that I would give away such information for free, Earthling?" the captain scoffed. "How about a deal? Considering the conquest interest in this area, I'd prefer to get away before Apokolips or the Reach decide to go to war with my people. Give us back our troq property, and we give you the info. Then, we'll leave you to enjoy your pathetic ball of rock until it's turned to ash."

Dusk narrowed his eyes, "Not happening."

"Fine," the captain smirked. "I'm sure Darkseid will pay a high price for you, and your friends will make excellent slaves."

"You think that we will fall that easily?" Starfire's eyes lit up with green energy.

"Yes," the captain glanced behind the vigilantes to see the remaining Citadel soldiers rushing to assist them. "Because you're vastly outnumber—What?!"

The Citadel warriors went wide eyed as the metal doors slid shut and the lights went off. The turrets turned to the aliens and opened fire on the underling Citadelians. They were all downed within seconds.

"You know," Dusk mentioned. "My family always preferred quality over quantity."

"Hey!" Gear's voice sounded through the speaker system. "Dusk, I got control over the ship. I'm directing it to the destination as planned."

"Impossible!" the captain declared. "Even an Eighth level intellect would take at least an hour to hack our system!"

"It's not a matter of intellect," Gear turned the turrets to the leader. "Don't underestimate a technopath!"

The Citadel captain crossed his arms over his face and withstood the bullets. Each blast bounced off his skin like it was nothing, "Me?! You're the one underestimating an elite Citadelian—GAH!"

Starfire had rushed forward with the bullets. With the woman now in his path, Gear stopped the flow of bullets. The Tamaranian threw a massive uppercut which smashed into the man's stomach. The cracks from the larger alien's ribs and the blood which flowed from his mouth showed just how powerful the female alien was.

When the captain knelt over to clutch his damaged midsection, Starfire grabbed his jaw and brought him forward so that she could glower in pure hatred at his pain filled features, "Elite Citadelian's have nothing on the Tamaranian royal family. Don't worry, I won't kill you. I want you to go back to the Citadel disgraced. Before they execute you, make sure to tell them that Koriand'r of Tamaran is no one's property."

With that said, Starfire unleashed beams of energy from her eyes to the captain's face. The force of the blast sent him flying to the far wall. Upon meeting the metal, the captain slid to the ground in unconsciousness.

Starfire growled, "I am not yet satisfied."

"I hear you sister," Ravager sighed. "I expected more."

"You still want a fight?" Gear's voice sounded through the intercom. The entrance doors slippped open to show Black Bat fighting the Citadel soldiers. "We got five minutes until I can safely move us to the bay."

Dusk boredly unsheathed Soul Shredder, "More than enough time to deal with them."

* * *

"So, that's it. That's me. Everything I can tell you without revealing other peoples' issues," Spirit sighed. "Does it make you feel better?"

"No," Alanna crossed her arms to hug herself. "Not really."

"I thought not," Spirit looked to the Rannian. "Be grateful for the peace you have here. You get to have friends and family who don't have a high chance of being murdered tomorrow."

"Yeah," Alanna appeared somewhat relieved. "Good point. What about you, though?"

"I'm going to try to fix my own problems. Don't worry about me," Spirit noted. "But I do have some advice for you if you're willing to listen."

Alanna blinked, "What is it?"

"Tell Strange how you feel," Spirit noticed her blush. "Oh, don't be embarrassed. He likes you too, and he gets along with your dad pretty well. You're all good to go. Take it from a ghost, life is short and fragile. Take advantage of what you have while you have it. Don't have the regrets of not telling people what you need to say to them. I've had too many people like that."

"I'll keep that in—"

"SPIRIT!" Superboy stuck his head in the room. "We're leaving! Now!"

"Jesus! Fine! No need to yell!" Spirit stood up and offered Alanna a hand. "Until next time."

Alanna took the hand. "Until next time."

"SPIRIT!"

"I'm coming!" Spirit quickly rushed out of the room. "What's your problem?"

"It's nothing," Superboy growled.

"Don't lie," Spirit frowned. "What did M'gann do?"

"She ripped the Krolotean's mind apart."

"I see…"

"You see?" Superboy hissed at her. "Don't you have a problem with this?"

"I do, but Miss Martian has always been a bit liberal with her telepathy," Spirit noted.

"No kidding," Superboy grunted. "And it's only gotten worse since…Garr…"

"Is that what this is about? Not just the mind thing?" Spirit narrowed her eyes.

"It's everything," Superboy shook his head. "I don't know how to deal with it."

Spirit looked away, "Look, let's just head back. I don't think that we should pull Sardath and Alanna into this."

"Yeah," Superboy shook his head. "When did everything get so hard?"

"I…don't know, Connor, but I sure wish I did."

* * *

Starfire dropped the last Citadel warrior onto the top of the space ship. Once her victim was grounded, she viciously kicked him in the groin before spitting on him, "Pile of fliroun feces."

"I'm surprised that you're not saying anything," Black Bat noted to Dusk as she watched her new companion's brutality.

"I'm not going to judge a beautiful, female slave beating her old handlers," Dusk turned away from the violence to stare out to the rising sun. Gear had safely landed the ship into the Tokyo Bay. With the enemy mostly dealt with, they moved to the top of the vehicle to prepare for their getaway.

Ravager snorted, "Jesus, traveling changed you, didn't it?"

Dusk shook his head and looked to Gear, "Did you download their data?"

"Yeah, but I'll need some time to translate it all," Gear was already working on his holographic computer. "Luckily, they already had a translation ready, so it won't take too long. That's how they talked to you without the kiss thing."

Dusk blushed, "Thanks for the reminder."

Herald glanced to the approaching Starfire, "What about her? The League should be here soon to clean up the mess. Do we leave her with them?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Dusk sheathed Soul Shredder. "Considering how they're wanted by some alien governments, I don't that adding theft of 'property' is a good idea. We should get her into hiding for now."

"Some normal clothes would help too," Black Bat noted as she eyed Starfire's prisoner outfit. "Unfortunately, Ravager and I have some missions we need to get to in the next few days."

"My house is a no go," Gear spoke up. "My parents would flip."

"I…don't believe that Karin would be pleased if I kept another woman around," Herald rubbed the back of his neck.

"Then I shall go with Dusk of the Phantom Family," Starfire smiled at the halfa. "That's for the best anyway. I am curious about the similarities of our powers."

Dusk eyed the alien. Her beauty only seemed to intensify in the sunlight, "That's…fine. But I don't know much about female clothing. I got a friend that won't ask any questions and could help with that."

"Most excellent!" Starfire explained. She paused, though, when her stomach gave a loud growl, "But it seems that I need sustenance. Where is a field where I can hunt?"

"To the supermarket it is," Dusk couldn't help but chuckle. "Gear, contact me when you get that information."

"Oh! Us too!" Ravager waved her hands. "This was fun. I want to see where this all goes."

"I'm interested too," Herald noted.

"Alright," Gear nodded. "We can gather once I translate everything. It will be like a regular team meeting."

"Team meeting, huh?" Dusk looked off in the distance. He remembered back when he was on a team with some of these very people. It didn't end well. He had lost… "Let's choose some different wording. I don't particularly want this to become a regular thing."

* * *

 **Sorry for the extended delay, but...it exists. Amazon made it hard, but it is real.**

 ***ahem***

 **Hey there! Do you enjoy my stories even mildly? No? Well, then why are you so far into this madness? Why not go further into the rabbit hole? Caged Demons: Entrapment is a thing that exists. I'm very proud of its development...considering the many sleepless nights that went into it. If you think that attempts at original work are worthy of trying, then please consider purchasing it. Thank you.**

 **Search "Caged Demons: Entrapment" on Amazon or...**

 **h_t_t_p_s :/ / www . amazon. c_o_m / dp / 1973442027**

 **Please ignore the underscores. I like that dp is in the link. Coincidences are awesome. XD**

 ***cough***

 **The obvious inspiration of Dusk's storyline in this chapter is the "Go!" episode of the original Teen Titans show.**

 **Next update will be before the end of 2017 as a way to apologize for the crappy update schedule.**

 **Big thanks to jaguarspot for being my most excellent Beta who patiently deals with antics.**

 **Thank you for reading and please remember to...**

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	5. Fools

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."

Plato

* * *

Chapter 5: "Fools"

(Wednesday-January 6, 2016)

Danny lifted a glass of wine to his lips as he eyed the laptop. The Kroloteans had begun their evacuations from their post. One of them had almost been caught by Blue Beetle and a woman dressed in a black and yellow shrinking suit. Both the armored hero and the woman which he assumed was Bumblebee had chased the alien until it disappeared into the sewers to be rescued by Danny's forces.

"You didn't come to bed," Ember slipped onto the chair next to Danny's arm.

"I have work to do," Danny noted. Despite his words, he couldn't stop his eyes from moving to take in the sight of his girlfriend dressed only in a large t-shirt.

Ember reached over to close the laptop, "Some work can wait, you know."

"I'm the youngest in the Light by far," Danny shook his head. "If I don't show my value, I could lose my spot. Then all I worked for would be lost."

"There's nothing you can do personally right now. Trust your allies. They can handle it," Ember took the laptop to place it on the side desk. "J.A.Z.Z."

" _Yes?_ "

"If anyone calls, tell them that Danny is on lockdown by order of his better half."

" _Can do._ "

"Excellent," Ember took Danny's hand and pulled him up.

"Alright, alright," Danny allowed her to drag him to the stairs. As they moved, he looked back to the living room of Fenton Works. Throughout the years, the simple design of his old home had changed to express his and Ember's more intense interest compared to the simplicity of suburban life. The red walls stood as a stark contrast to the pictures of flowing ectoplasm and large concert stages. Despite the changes, there were still times where he thought he heard the noise of a family long since dead.

"Hey," Ember's voice drew his attention to her. "You said that you would be okay being here, but you keep getting that look."

"Sorry," Danny noted.

"Maybe you should think about getting your own home," Ember mentioned. "I don't care either way. Wherever you are is fine with me, but you're not a ghost anymore. Holding onto the past isn't healthy."

"Someday perhaps," Danny sighed. "But right now, I need the motivation. This place is a reminder of everything that happened. It keeps me going…along with you."

Ember snorted, "Flattery will get you everywhere."

"I know," Danny rubbed tired eyes. "It's what kept me on people's good sides for so long."

"True, but remember that words will only take you so far if your actions go against them," Ember stated. "Remember that, because I got a gut feeling that your old friends might catch a whiff of what's up pretty soon."

* * *

"You know, when I said that you would always have a place to crash at here, I didn't think that you would bring a fugitive from outer space with you."

Dusk scoffed as he smiled over to his friend, "Well, maybe you should have. You know how crazy my life is."

"That I do. Makes me glad that I'm out of the hero lifestyle," Freddy Freeman sighed as he plopped down next to the halfa on the couch before handing the other boy a drink. He was a teenage boy with plain features seemingly twisted with permanent boredom. His dark hair stood at a stark contrast to his blue eyes. "You're lucky that I convinced my parents to let you stay."

"I appreciate it," Dusk took a sip of his drink.

"You better," Freddy grumbled. "Giving up my bed. Dealing with her snoring. Seeing her disgusting eating habits. I expect a lot of favors in return for putting up with this."

Dusk snorted, "What do you want?"

"Meh, I'll probably use them to help set up a good date with Mary," Freddy's eyes zoned in on the television which hung from the wall of the apartment. More news stories were being displayed about the recent alien events. "Is this really the best place for her, though? I know that Mary's place is out because Billy might show up and inform the League, but don't you have other safe houses?"

"I had one other place where I could go for support, but I needed help from a girl that wasn't insane," Dusk explained. "Starfire will need some clothes that will help her blend in. I thought Mary was the safest bet."

"True. Most girls in our community enjoy leather and chains too much," Freddy nodded. But boy, you got yourself in a mess. I get not wanting to involve the League because of all the political bullshit, but do you actually have a plan about what to do with her?"

"Do I need a plan? She's a fugitive slave," Dusk took a sip of his own drink. "If she lies low until the mess I sorted out, she'll be given asylum by the League."

"Oh, so you're just going to be dragging around the drop dead gorgeous alien by yourself?" Freddy gained a sly smirk. "Teaching her the ways of this world one romantic trip at a time."

"It's not like that."

"Sure, it isn't," Freddy shook his head. "I saw the way you looked at her. Go for it. She's attracted to you too. Just don't accidentally make any mixed up babies. I don't even want to know what a combination of ghost and alien would be like."

Dusk sighed, "Geeze, you've gained a dirty sense of humor."

"It's called being a high school student."

"Glad I'm missing it then," Dusk looked back to see that the room to Freddy's room was still closed. "I won't deny that she's attractive."

"Understatement much?"

"But I'd feel bad if I made a move. She's like my guest. I have power and influence over her mindset about Earth," Dusk leaned forward to stare at the carpeted floor. "Maybe later, but I'll let her adjust first."

"Well, at least you're considering it," Freddy noted. "Greta wouldn't like what you're doing to yourself."

Dusk had no response to that.

"Consider traveling more with the people that helped you back in Tokyo too. Being alone for so long can't be good for your mindset," Freddy stood up from his seat to move towards the window. "Even an asshole like me can see that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dusk slowly nodded.

"Good. You shouldn't let what happened before keep you down forever," Freddy warily glanced through the closed curtains. "Mary and I moved on. You should to. Even if you are a ghost, you shouldn't let the dead haunt you. They deserve their rest."

"Fair point," Dusk looked to his friend. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing," Freddy's eyes darted across the rooftops to see if he could get a peek of red in the darkness. "A guy from across the street's been acting weird lately. He might be spying on people. I'll report him to the police tomorrow. You shouldn't worry about it."

* * *

Vision stood in front of the hundreds of cages holding multiple Kroloteans. All the little aliens were screeching in terror at being teleported somewhere other than their intended destination, "Interesting. So this is what they look like in person."

Plasmius nodded beside her, "Rather typical in appearance, don't you think?"

"Compared to ghosts?" Vision chuckled. "I've seen ones that are just green blobs."

Plasmius shrugged, "True."

"So what is the plan with them?" Vision stepped up to one of the cages to observe one of the aliens. The Krolotean screeched at her but stopped when her eyes gained a dangerous purple glow in warning.

"Information," Plasmius noted. "I gained quite a bit of intel from them already, and there is a chance that we can gain more from them about the wider universe. Perhaps we can even use them as a foothold to get out there to establish ourselves against greater threats. That's what I believe the Light is doing with them. I get the feeling that they will be done with the Kroloteans soon."

"I see," Vision slowly nodded. "And they will likely kill these little ones to keep them silent. If we save them and prove it, we could make these aliens some allies."

Plasmius eyed the cages, "Would that work? I was just thinking that we could use them to send a message. After entrapping them like this, do you really think that they would ally themselves with us?"

"They will if we're the ones that saved them from the Light," Vision noted. "Temporary imprisonment or betrayal and murder? Which would you prefer?"

"Fair point," Plasmius stroked his chin. "I know where their rendezvous point is. That's likely where the Light will deal with the leftovers on Earth, but they will likely have heightened security. I don't want to go in there alone, and you shouldn't fight like that."

Vision looked down to her extended stomach, "True, and we don't have time to recruit proper help. Hmm…you mentioned that you hacked the League's system, no?"

"Yes," Plasmius smiled. "They should find out about the Krolotean base soon enough."

Vision nodded, "We can use their attack on the aliens as a distraction, but I doubt that Dani will appreciate our using them without telling her."

"Well then, the answer is simple. All we need to do is tell her about what's really happening."

* * *

"Uh huh," Spirit leaned against a wall within the bowels of Hall of Justice. Compared to the outer layer filled with displays of the League's previous deeds, the steel halls beyond the view of civilians were dull, even if they were far more secure. She had her phone up to her ear and was speaking to the caller. "Seems like you've got things under control. Did you call Joel yet?"

"…"

Spirit sighed, "Yeah, the League mentioned Tokyo. Haven't been back long enough to read the reports, though. So he's lying low?"

"…"

"Well, he'll pop up eventually if aliens are involved with everything," Spirit noted. "The Apokolips thing shouldn't boil over immediately. One step at a time."

"…"

"I can do that," Spirit's eyes snapped to the side to see Cyborg approaching her. "Oh, the meeting is about to start. I'll call you back later."

"Hey," Cyborg kissed his girlfriend after she slid her phone into her pocket. "Family call?"

"Yeah. Wanted to keep them up to date," Spirit began to step through the hallways of the fake base. "Although, it seems like I'm missing a lot of things. What exactly happened?"

Cyborg sighed, "It's hard to explain. The Green Lanterns are looking into it, but it seems like a slave escaped. Your brother helped. Now some weird aliens from the 'Citadel' are demanding her back. Luckily, we are out of their territory, so we don't have to actively look for her."

"Which is why it's a good thing that Dusk has gone off the grid with her," Batman's voice drew them out of their conversation. They turned back to see him standing with Bumblebee. "That's why I wanted to talk to the two of you."

Spirit blinked at Bumblebee, "Why you too?"

Bumblebee grimaced, "Mal was a part of the fight to save the girl. He to—"

"If you wish to discuss the events of what happened in Tokyo, then do it once the meeting is done and you're out of the Hall," Batman noted. "The League has no formal ties with the group which went against the Citadel. It will be easier for us to deflect their demands until the Guardians of the Universe make an official statement if no one in the League has any current knowledge on the matter."

Cyborg raised his one remaining eyebrow, "What about Black Bat? She's your protégé."

"I have not had formal contact with her for months," Batman explained.

Spirit's lips twitched, "Formal, huh?"

"Yes," Batman nodded. "Whether we like it or not, we are in galactic politics right now. Plausible deniability will help prevent more headaches. No matter what, the Citadel slave known as Starfire won't be returning to them, but it will be easier if everyone with possible contact to those involved remains silent on the matter."

"Sounds good to me," Spirit shrugged. "So what about the Kroloteans?"

"We are organizing an assault on their base," Batman noted. "You will be part of the effort, Spirit."

Spirit looked to Bumblebee and Cyborg, "What about them?"

"The League will be part of the mission," Batman noted. "It will be easier to use stealth without a bloated team."

"Not all of us have to be a part of the first line of defense," Cyborg reasoned. "We don't know what the Kroloteans will have to fight us with. Wouldn't having more numbers be the smart thing to do? Besides, the newer members of the Team could use the experience. I can make sure that Blue Beetle is always in proper position to give the Kroloteans a proper scare."

Batman slowly nodded, "Fair point. With most of the League dealing with the Tokyo fallout, it would be best to have as much backup ready as possible. I will mention this to Captain Atom, so make sure that you're ready."

They all nodded, "Yes, sir."

* * *

Dusk leaned against the doorframe connecting the living room and the kitchen. His eyes were locked on the sight of Mary outfitting Starfire with a coat and wig to hide her appearance for their trip to the outside. While the alien's orange tinted skin might draw some attention, her disguise would help imply that it was a really bad spray tan.

"There we go," Mary smiled as she placed a hat over Starfire's wig. "You shouldn't draw too much attention like that."

Starfire stared at the dark coat covering her body, "Do Earthlings really use such heavy furs for mild weather?"

"It's below freezing out," Mary picked up her own coat.

"That's it?" Starfire tapped her chin in thought. "On Tamaran, we only wear extra clothing if our bodies would automatically die from the weather."

"W-Wow…" Mary's eyes were wide. "That's…intense."

"Hmm," Starfire glanced to Dusk. "Earth is strange. Some of you seem worthy enough to fight the elite of the universe, yet others would have crumbled before even the Krolos. Do you not have any unique powers?"

"I used to," Mary smiled. "I was blessed by the great wizard Shizam, but I gave those up to save my friends when they were in trouble."

Starfire's eyes sparked in confusion, "You willingly became weak for others?"

"Well, of course," Mary nodded. "People needed my help. What good is power if you can't use it to help people?"

Starfire looked away in thought, "Wow. Earthlings are fascinating."

"I think so too," Mary turned to Dusk. "Do you want to come, Dusk?"

"Err…"

Mary giggled, "That's a no. Okay, we'll be back in a few hours."

Dusk nodded, "Listen to Mary, Star. Oh, and try to blend in."

"Very well," Starfire nodded.

When the girls left, Dusk turned to enter the kitchen. He sat down at the table before looking towards Freddy. The other boy was working with a blender. As he poured his juice, Freddy spoke to his friend, "You sure that you shouldn't go with them?"

"Mary can we handle it. Starfire doesn't need me around all the time," Dusk noted. "Besides, I thought this would be a good chance to talk without anyone around. You've been tense for the whole day."

"You noticed, huh?" Freddy carefully adjusted the blender. Once he was done, he stepped back to the table with his drink.

Dusk eyed his friend, "It may have been a while since we worked together, but I still know you. You hid it better around Mary, but you don't have to worry about stressing me out."

Freddy lifted the glass up to his mouth. Though, his lip movements were hidden, his words could clearly be heard, "Look at the blender."

Dusk did so, "Oh…has it been like that for a while?"

"Yep," Freddy lowered the glass. "Been like that since the New Year. I thought maybe you could help me with it so I don't have to worry Mary about it."

Dusk stared at the reflection in the blender. The glass showed the image of the now unobscured window. His green eyes glowed a bit more up seeing a strange red figure across the street on the opposing apartment's rooftop, "I think that I can handle that."

"Good. The bad thing about not having my powers is the fear of getting cut. I bleed so easily now. I'd just get my fingers cut off if I stuck my hand in it," Freddy noted. "I know that it's a bit more than what you owe for letting you stay here, but…"

"Say no more," Dusk stood. "Just let me go to the bathroom, and then I can fix the…blender."

"Thanks," Freddy nodded in appreciation. While his friend left, though, he clenched his fists in frustration. Why did he have to be so useless?

* * *

Plasmius frowned at the screen in front of him, "That's not good."

Vision nodded, "The Light seems extremely invested in this for some reason."

Their words rang true. Inside the volcano base, several prominent Earthling fighters stood within the Krolotean hive. They did not help the aliens in their work to finish the preparation of their rocket ship, but the villains appeared ready for a fight. Based on the dozens of armed men wearing black scuba armor, Black Manta seemed to be in charge of the operation. How he managed to get so many deadly fighters on his side perplexed the ghosts.

They were now grateful for their previous caution. Instead of investigating directly, they sent in tiny bug drones to spy on the enemy. From the safety of their camouflaged airship, the two ghosts examined the inside of the island base.

"Harley Quin, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, the Parasite," Plasmius shook his head. "And even Harm. I don't think most of those people were even allied with the Light."

"That group is familiar," Vision stroked her veiled chin.

"There have been reports of them working together," Plasmius nodded. "They've only worked together a few times, though."

"Interesting," Vision's eyes danced in thought. "Someone within the Light must be coordinating them. A group with such prevalent personalities doesn't join forces without outside incentive."

"They may have finally filled in the missing places of the previous members," Plasmius noted. "Black Manta would be a strong replacement for Ocean Master."

Vision frowned at the memory of one of her most hated enemies, "Then someone with similar attributes to the Brain and Klarion have appeared as well. Considering that Black Manta has never shown such initiative, one them is conniving and powerful enough to force these people to work for them."

"Things just keep getting worse," Plasmius shook his head. "Contact Danielle. She'll need to know that the threats are far worse than we thought. There doesn't seem to be any specific anti-ghost technology being used. I'm going to move in to try to get an advantage."

"Be careful," Vision stated.

"I don't plan to fight directly," Plasmius moved her veil to the side in order to kiss his wife. "But I need a head start if we're going to pull off our plan."

Once they were separated, Plasmius fazed through the ship in order to fly towards the Krolotean. As he flew, he activated all of his stealth oriented abilities. Despite being invisible and untouchable, the eldest halfa made sure to be extra careful. After all, he had to avoid detection from both the Light and the League. Getting caught in a fight between those two factions could very well prove to be his end.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spirit floated above the mountain base of the Kroloteans. While her parent's warnings did alert her to the presence of Earth rogues in the mountain, she had not been expecting such a dangerous group of enemies. She recognized all of them from a mass escape report from Belle Reve. There had been sightings of the group working together, but they had only been seen on dangerous and strange missions.

The big mystery of them was why they would work together. Harley Quin was an insane psychopath known for being Joker's girlfriend before the Clown Prince of Crime died. Despite her entire body being covered in red and black spandex, she was often armed to a deadly degree. The only person she ever seemed to get along with was her ex-lover, yet she stood comfortably close to Captain Boomerang. Despite his strange title, the man was a dangerous user of homing technology. His large trench coat probably hid enough explosives to bring the whole mountain down.

Another odd group was the pink skinned Parasite standing next to the blue skinned Killer Frost. The Parasite's power was to absorb other's abilities, which was probably why he only wore a pair of shorts to cover himself. He also had an appetite for other people's powers, which made his cooperation with the ice woman strange. Even if she was covered in a fluffy, luscious blue and white coat, Killer Frost's seemingly trust over the Parasite's restraint seemed rather strong.

The final villain struck close to home for the halfa. Harm was an enemy from her childhood. He murdered his sister in order to become "pure" which would allow him to use magical swords. His sister Secret came back to fill him with an actual sense of remorse. Originally, Spirit actually thought that he had tried to redeem himself. Now, it was clear that Secret…Greta's purpose was never fulfilled completely.

Spirit was about to move again when the appearance of a new person caused her to freeze. The person was obviously female in form. Black and red armor was hidden behind a torn cloak. The familiar symbol on her belt, gloves, and helmet burned into Spirit's mind. She remembered the break into Axion Labs, but she never thought that the Red X armor would appear in a place like this.

Red X stopped in the center of a walkway over the water. She looked around the entire base. Her helmeted head first looked up to the side scaffolding, then to the water, before finally looking at Spirit. Before Spirit could react, Red X pulled twin pistols from her hips and opened fire on the hidden heroes inside the base.

* * *

Dusk fazed through the roof on the other side of the street to Freddy's apartment. Silently, he unsheathed Soul Shredder. Without doing anything that would give him away, the halfa floated over to the stalker. The stranger was a man wearing a leather jacket and cargo pants. While the red hood which covered his head was eye drawing, Dusk's eyes focused more on the pistols hanging from his belt. Dusk's instincts screamed of the danger that this man presented.

He moved his blade by the stranger's neck, "Don't move."

The stranger chuckled, "It's about time that you showed up. I was about to bust in there."

Dusk frowned, "So you're after me?"

"Yes, but seeing Freddy was a big plus," the stranger noted.

"How do you know him?" Dusk demanded.

"We're friends."

"This doesn't seem like friendly behavior."

"Maybe to normal people, but we're far from normal, Joel."

Dusk's eyes widened slightly, "You know me?"

"Why yes," the man suddenly spun around to face the ghost. A green light originated from the gun in his hand. Dusk was forced to move away from the man to avoid getting shot by the ectoplasmic pistol. "I do."

"Hmm…" Dusk tilted his head to the helmeted man in the red hood. "Who are you?"

"You can call me the Red Hood."

Dusk sighed, "You know, I'm starting to think that people aren't good at coming up with good identities. At least my family has at least a tiny bit of creativity in their names. Don't you think that it's a little on the nose?"

"Maybe," Red Hood pulled out a second gun. "But creative names haven't ever been my family's strong point."

"Any chance for us to end this peacefully and you just telling me what you want?" Dusk questioned.

"Nope," Red Hood rushed forward to the ghost. "I want to see how far you've come!"

Grunting, Dusk swung his sword at the approaching enemy. In a true show of skill, Red Hood ducked under the expert swing while aiming his first gun at the halfa. Dusk spun to the side to dodge the first shot before blocking the extra bullets with his sword. The two fighters then tried to kick at each other, but they managed to block all the blows.

Growling, the halfa moved back to gain some distance. Raising a glowing hand, he fired off ectoplasmic blasts at his foe. Unfortunately, Red Hood stopped each burst with a shot from his own ghost weaponry. Before the stalker could get another attack in, though, Dusk sunk into the concrete roof. Knowing what would happen, Red Hood flipped over to avoid getting pierced by Soul Shredder. Dusk continued his ascent from the floor into the air in order to avoid getting hit by his foe's shots.

Once high enough into the air, Dusk swung Soul Shredder to unleash arcs of energy. Red Hood dodged the first couple of attacks before dropping some smoke bombs. Dusk immediately stopped his attacks. He waited for the smoke to fade only to find that the other man had disappeared. With his sword raised, Dusk prepared for what was to come. Surprisingly, no bullet came.

"Woohoo!"

Dusk turned to see Red Hood waving.

"Over here!"

With a burst of energy, he rushed through the air towards his foe. Red Hood dropped his original gun. He reached up with his free hand to move his hood down and pull off his helmet. His actions caused the halfa to completely stop his momentum. Both the helmet and Soul Shredder clattered onto the roof. As the ghost landed in front of him, Red Hood raised the gun that he hadn't used yet.

Dusk felt the cold metal of the gun press against his forehead. Even if he wanted to use his intangibility, it wouldn't work in this instance. All he could do was look forward to the person threatening his life.

"No…"

The image of the gun holder suddenly became blurry. It was at that moment that Dusk realized that he was crying. His legs suddenly gave out on him. Soon, the ghost was kneeling. Yet the gun continued to be pressed against his head.

With his body numb and his mind blown, Dusk could only let his tears fall. He tried to speak, but his words only came out in an incomprehensible sob. This continued several times before he finally managed to get his words out.

"I…I don't…"

"What's wrong, Joel? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"J-Jason…I-It c-can't b-be…I…I saw your body…"

The unmasked Red Hood glared down at the defenseless ghoul. Shaking his head, he did the only thing he could in this situation. He pulled the trigger.

Water began to trickle down Dusk's forehead. Jason's handsome face lifted into a smile. The J brand burned into his cheek shifted with the movement of his face. His free hand moved up to sweep it across his black hair, "You should see the look on your face. Like I'd really shoot you. I—Oof!"

Dusk punched Jason in the gut, "You ass! Are you really joking right now!? Do you have any goddamn idea how you just showing up makes me feel! I mourned you! Everyone mourned you! That was not funny!"

"Gah," Jason Todd heaved. "S-Sorry, I couldn't think of a way to do it that wouldn't be all sappy. I thought…"

Dusk pulled his best friend in for a hug. He released a quiet sob, "You suck at thinking sometimes, you insensitive moron. But…God, I'm glad you're alive."

Jason returned the hug, "So…you're not questioning this?"

"You're asking a ghost about being surprised about someone returning from the dead?"

"…Good point."

* * *

"Three minutes until departure! Everyone get to the ship!" Red X roared as she fought off Spirit with x's on the back of her hands extending into blades. Spirit tried to push back with her Spectral Claws but couldn't overpower her foe.

While the halfa tried to fight off her brother's armor thief, the rest of the base went into wild chaos. The Black Manta soldiers had opened fire upon the Batfamily. While the non-powered humans could deal with the lackeys with ease, things became more difficult when the villains went into action and the Kroloteans went into their walkers. Their backup was forced to blast their way to give support.

With the help of Superman and Wonder Woman, Superboy and Wonder Girl easily tore through the walkers. Meanwhile, the remaining members of Young Justice desperately tried to fight off the super villains. Blue Beetle was having a difficult time fighting off Killer Frost's ice, while Cyborg tried a battle of explosions with Captain Boomerang. Meanwhile, Harley Quin was literally skipping around the battlefield while causing chaos all across the base.

"How can you use that armor!?" Spirit hissed.

"My boss is a genius," Red X taunted. "Oh, and don't forget that you can't focus only on me."

Before Spirit could react, the Parasite grabbed her by the back of her neck. She immediately felt ill as all of her power was drained from her body. Her legs went numb as she dropped in exhaustion. The Parasite licked his lips, "Never had ghost before. Kind of gamy, but it's not bad."

Red X pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Spirit's head, "This suit was designed with fighting ghosts in mind, yeah? Has it ever actually killed a ghost before? Maybe I should break it in…"

"No!"

Both Red X and the Parasite were sent flying back as Aquaman and Lagoon Boy jumped into action. While the inflated La'gann punched Red X across the face, Aquaman hit the Parasite with magic powered Water Bearers in the shape of a giant hammer. Not affected by the Parasite because of lack of contact, the king of Atlantis sheathed his weapons over his back and picked the drained Spirit up.

"Kaldur," Spirit muttered as she glanced up to the dark skinned Atlantian with buzzed blonde hair.

"Everything will be fine, Spirit," the second Aquaman smiled to his longtime friend.

"Neptune's beard," Lagoon Boy muttered at the sight of the Red X's cracked helmet.

A dark haired woman with a terribly scarred face glared at them, "I'm gorgeous, right?"

"Boss," Parasite pushed himself up. "Let me—"

"No. We have no time for any more fun," Red X noted. "Get to the ship."

"We are not done here!" La'gaan shouted.

"We are," Red X smirked. "Unless you want all of us to get caught up in the bomb."

"Bomb?" Aquaman's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. This place will blow in about…three minutes," Red X explained. "I would suggest running. Task Force X, we're done here! Move out!"

"No…" Spirit tried to wiggle free.

"Do not try to move," Kaldur warned. "You are a being completely tied to her energy, no? I do not want you dissolving on me. Let me help you out of here."

With clenched eyes, Spirit nodded. There was nothing more she could do here anyway. With heavy hearts, the heroes began their retreat using the Bioship. As she fought off unconsciousness, Spirit could only hope that her parents accomplished their side of the mission.

* * *

Plasmius let out a groan as the last of his duplicates returned to him in a burst of green light. He leaned back to pop his back, "Dear God, I'm feeling my age. This is what I get for being so out of practice. I need to do some workouts with my powers."

Vision floated next to her husband. Their ship continued to hover in autopilot as she moved next to the halfa on top of the rocket ship which he carried out into the ocean, "Good work."

"Thanks," Plasmius sighed in exhaustion. "That was harder than I thought. Staying undetected while overshadowing aliens in the middle of a fight with the Justice League. Who would have thought that would be so difficult?"

"It would have been easier if Superman didn't try to save them, although I do appreciate his sentiments," Vision paused. "Do you think that he will be okay?"

"He's Superman. He'll be fine. Physically at least. He'll probably kick himself when he starts to think that he failed to save them," Plasmius looked down at the space ship. All the Kroloteans remained unconscious after being released from overshadowing. "But his conscience isn't our problem. We now need to focus on these Kroloteans. What do we do with them?"

"We'll have to restrain them until we can reason with them," Vision noted.

"So…I'm going to have to carry them again?"

"Well, are you going to make your pregnant wife do it?"

Plasmius sighed, "You're going to milk that card for all its worth, aren't you?"

* * *

"Welcome to the Light."

Danny smiled upon hearing that familiar greeting by Savage. He, like the other members of their group, congratulated their newest partner. Once the congratulating was over, they went over the finer points of the last mission before setting the official time for their next meeting. When everything was done, the members of the Light began to sign off of their group meeting until only Danny and Black Manta remained.

"Congratulations," Danny smiled at his new equal.

" _It is thanks to you, my friend_ ," Black Manta returned the grin. " _Although, I do not think that such a large force was necessary._ "

"Better to be careful," Danny mentioned. "I know from experience that the loyalty tests can be brutal."

Manta's smile fell, " _Oh yes. I heard whispers of your test. I am impressed that someone so young can be so ready to do what needs to be done. Were you close to her_?"

Danny kept his features composed, "Yeah, a bit. We knew each other when we were teenagers, but she was in the way too many times. It had to be done."

" _Indeed,_ " Manta nodded. " _Well, it is late. We both need our rest for what is to come_."

"Yeah, I better get off before my better half gets to me," Danny chuckle.

" _Oh? Does the lady in your life have a lot of sway on you_?"

"You have no idea. I'll introduce you the next time we meet in person."

" _I look forward to it, Phoenix. Good night_."

"Night," Danny canceled the connection. He was left looking at his darkened laptop in the darkness of his lab. With a sigh, he moved to turn away from his laptop and head to bed. Before he could take a step, he paused.

Turning back to his laptop, he worked the keys until he got to the video he kept as a reminder of what he had done. Danny watched the footage of himself holding a gun to a kneeling woman's head. Her rolling blonde locks and striking tan features marked her as a true beauty.

" _Danny...Please_ ," past Artemis begged. " _This isn't you. You—_ "

The sound of the gun's bang silenced the archer. Blood sprayed across the ground. Her body tumbled onto the ground. Cold, dead eyes stared right into the camera. Both the video Danny and the present Danny looked at the corpse with hard eyes.

"It had to be done."

* * *

(Tuesday-January 26, 2016)

Donna Troy was a beautiful young woman. Her dark, long locks rolled down over her toga covered form. The light of the moon shined down to illuminate her gorgeous features which appeared to have been carved to perfection. She calmly stood at the edge of the beach to allow the cold waves to gently tickle her feet. Her mind raced with worry for the sister which would soon be heading outside the realm of the gods. Part of her wanted to see Diana off, but facing Man's World was still beyond her.

"Donna."

The princess jumped lightly before turning her head to the side to see Dusk standing beside her, "Joel?! What are thou doing here?"

"I came to tell you something," Dusk accepted her quick. "It's been a while. You look good."

"Thou look…" Donna bit her lips. "Somewhat more refreshed compared to our last meeting."

"It's been a chaotic month," Dusk noted.

"I have heard," Donna nodded. "Are thou here to warn me of the aliens? Because my sister already told me everything."

"No…It's not that," Dusk sighed. "It's something unrelated. I wanted to come here earlier, but I wanted the heat to die down."

"Yes. Tokyo," Donna hummed in thought. "From what Diana has said, thou saved a female slave and disappeared. Do thou wish to grant her sanctuary on Themyscira?"

"Err, no. This isn't about Starfire," Dusk rubbed the back of his head. "Do you remember the Lazarus Pit?"

"Thy father's bath of immortality?"

"Yeah. He's used it to come back to life multiple times," Dusk explained. "But someone needs a really strong will to use it, and it has the side effect of temporary insanity. It takes some time and effort to get the user back to normal."

"Um…Why are thou telling me this?"

"Just getting you ready," Dusk gestured behind him.

Donna followed his line of sight to see several strange individuals. She recognized most of them. Usually, she would rush to embrace Black Bat and Mal, but a familiar sight made her legs go numb, "Jason?"

* * *

"This is dumb," Spirit glared at the members of the League about to head out into space. "You do realize that this is exactly what the Light wants, right?"

"It has to be this way," Superman noted. "We cannot let our reputations be in tatters. Even if it was against our wills, we hurt people. The right thing to do is stand trial and clear our names."

Wonder Woman nodded, "Icon has experience in intergalactic law, so we will have a representative."

"Yes," Spirit muttered bitterly. "The speciesist alien council won't be biased against you at all. It totally won't be a kangaroo court."

"We've discussed this before," Batman remained calm. "We must follow the political requirements of the larger universe. If not, then we will make ourselves enemies of dozens of other worlds. If we don't do this, then we could end up losing Earth's support and going to war."

"Earth is filled with some of the weirdest and most dangerous things in the universe!" Spirit argued. "Kryptonians, death machines, meta-humans, and even ghosts. Not to mention that we could always ally ourselves with Mars. Anyone that would attack us would have to be nuts enough to go against those laws, and you want to take our greatest fighters away to weaken us? That's so stupid."

"It has to be this way," Green Lantern stated. "We can't just—"

"Whatever," Spirit turned away from the League and Young Justice on the beach behind Mount Justice. "We won't convince each other. I can't stop you, but I won't stay and support this either."

"Dani…" Superboy muttered upon seeing his fellow clone step away.

Cyborg silently stepped after his lover. They left the remaining members of their allies to say their final goodbyes. Together, the duo made their way to the peak of the secret base to meet with another group of two ghosts.

Vision stared out into the darkened horizon of the night, "So they're going through with it."

"This will make things harder," Plasmius sighed.

"Idiots," Spirit plopped down onto a stone to glare down at the beach.

Cyborg slowly moved next to the ghosts. Over the past month, they had filled him in on their plans. While conflicted about having a hidden agenda against his friends, he refused to go against his family, "You have to understand their perspective. They are the JUSTICE League after all."

"And that's always been my problem with them," Vision shook her head. "Putting your own principles above the needs of those below you is dangerous. That is the burden of being the strongest and being on top. The Light will surely take full advantage of this."

Everyone on the mountain went silent. Instead of arguing, they silently watched as a spaceship made of energy from Green Lantern's ring took the founding members of the Justice League into space. Only when they were out of sight did one of them speak again. Cyborg frowned, "What now?"

"We need to prepare," Vision noted. "I managed to convince the Kroloteans to work with us out of spite of the Light. We can use their knowledge to our advantage. Although there's no way of knowing what the Light's overall plan is, we have an idea of who their partner is. The Kroloteans refer to them as the Competitor. They are the Reach."

"Building up our forces again is a must," Plasmius stroked his chin. "I have plenty of ideas on how to do that, but you two will need to be careful with your Team. Keep an eye on Blue Beetle."

Cyborg crossed his arms, "Why?"

"He might unknowingly be using alien technology," Vision noted.

"We can do that," Spirit's eyes were firmly locked onto the sky. "You know…something's been bugging me."

"What is it?"

"Well, the missing hours for the League have been cleared up, but not for Danny. Remember, he was under their control too, yet he's never been spotted off world. I wonder what the Light made him do."

* * *

(Saturday-January 27, 2046)

"Ow, ow! You're hurting me, Luna!" a bald man wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and a power suppression collar cried out as he was pulled through the destroyed streets of Remnant.

"Well, I wouldn't if you'd hurry up!" Luna hissed to the man as she easily dragged him by the arm. Her long white hair with pink highlights was pushed back to reveal her neon green eyes glowing from behind the green sunglasses covering her heart shaped face. A skin tight shirt with a black torso and white sleeves covered her upper body, while form fitting white jeans with black seams covered her legs. Her slightly elevated shoes gave her extra height. The most noticeable thing about her clothes was the DP symbol on her chest. "Bart's probably getting impatient—"

"Luna!" a thin boy with brown hair suddenly appeared in front of them. His torn clothing hung from his runner's frame. Green eyes shined in panic. "We have a problem! Oh Highfather, we're totally getting put on mode!"

"Calm down, Bart," Luna sighed. "What's the problem?"

"I think that I'm the problem," a large figure appeared behind Luna. Said figure was an extremely muscular woman wearing an apron over thick black body armor. An old gray beanie held her dark hair from view but still allowed the blue skin of her face to show.

Luna turned around, "Hi, Box Lunch."

"Hi?" Box Lunch crossed her arms. "That's all you have to say for yourself? I ordered you to get on escape ship two hours ago."

"I know," Luna nodded. "But I'm not going."

"Oh, Luna," Box Lunch sighed. "Do you always have to be so difficult? We don't have time for this right now. Most of our people are either hurt or dead. The city is destroyed, and our supplies were burnt to ash."

"I know, that's why I'm not going with you," Luna glanced around the city of rubble. Smoke still continued to rise from the recent battle. "There's no point. Earthlings are done for now. There's only one option left for us. I found Grandma's notes."

Box Lunch frowned, "I see…"

"A time machine," Luna shook her head. "That's the only way to fix things now."

"You…You're not wrong," Box Lunch deflated. "That was our plan. Originally, we were going to send Batman, but now that's not an option."

"Then let me and Bart do this," Luna stated. "The machine only fits one, but I can overshadow him."

Box Lunch looked away, "Do you really think that his dad would allow that?"

Bart spoke up, "I already talked to him about this. It took a few hours…well, minutes in your time…but he thinks that this is for the best. Not like there will be much of a life in this timeline for me."

Box Lunch nodded, "Indeed. I see you actually thought this through. Why are you taking Neutron?"

The bald man flinched, "Please don't call me that."

"The plan was to start by saving the second Flash, right?" Luna noted. "Who better to help us set up than his murderer?"

"Geeze…" Box Lunch sighed. "You know what, fine."

Bart blinked, "Fine?"

"Yeah. Fine," Box Lunch nodded "I can get behind this plan. Besides…if Luna's not involved, she's the one most likely to not exist at all if you succeed. Removing her from the timeline could save her."

Luna looked down in shame at the truth of her mentor's words.

"But I won't let you do this alone," Box Lunch looked up. "If we're doing this, then we're doing this right. No need to sneak out on your own rocket. The remains of Earth will invest everything into this."

Luna blinked, "You'll help us?"

Box Lunch nodded. Her eyes stared up from their moon base to look at the desolate orb of ash which had once been the life filled Earth, "Yeah, it's our only option at this point. If we don't change the past, then the fate of the entire human race is extinction."

* * *

 **Blah Blah Blah...My Beta jaguarspot is, as always, the very best in the world...Blah Blah Blah.**

 **One last update before we go into 2018. Thanks to everyone for sticking by the series despite the delay this year. Even though I have a lot more plans for more original work next year (current projects are _Caged Demons: Clemency_ and the mostly stand alone _Dragon Skin_ ), I refuse to leave this series behind until the end. Out of precaution, I'll go ahead and warn you that Season 3 of Young Justice might frustrate me enough to go on a temporary hiatus. Not predicting it to be bad or anything...but it might be a pain considering that I've had the fifth and final book of the series planned out ever since season 2 ended...I might either need to do some heavy editing to my notes or completely make that section of the series AU.**

 **I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays...or whatever. Wish you all the best for New Years.**

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to...**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


	6. Scars

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."

Douglas MacArthur

* * *

Chapter 6: "Scars"

(Saturday-February 13, 2016)

Danny let out a breath of exasperation. He watched as his breath lifted up into the cold February air. Adjusting his coat, he glanced at his companions who were dressed in far less clothing than him. He would have wondered why they weren't freezing if he didn't know the cybernetic weaves of their clothing helped retain heat. The whooshing sound of someone sliding down a line drew his attention forward. He watched as a disheveled man dressed in red and black approached the rooftop by zip line. Upon making contact with the concrete, the ragged redhead tumbled onto the ground with his bow sliding away.

"Wow," Danny muttered. "That's sad."

Nightwing elbowed Danny in the ribs, "Be nice."

"What? He's the opposite of heveled," Danny whispered.

Nightwing snorted, "I regret starting that word game with you, you chicken fricassee."

"Hey, Roy," Green Arrow stood above the downed Red Arrow while offering a hand to pull him up. While most of his features were hidden beneath his green hood, his blonde mustache and goatee stood out in the darkened night. "Need a hand?"

"No," Red Arrow smacked the offered hand away.

"We think you do," Nightwing noted. The remaining members of their intervention group stepped out from behind the entrance to the staircase. Danny was joined by a blonde woman in black leather, another disheveled redhead with freckles, and a man who looked just like Red Arrow except better kept.

Red Arrow glared at them, "I have nothing to say to any of you. Nothing to explain. Nothing to justify!"

Green Arrow reached out as his former protégé turned to walk away in order to grab a large stack of cash, "Nothing?"

Red Arrow froze, "It's...not what it looks like. I mean, the store owner won't miss it! He offered me a reward anyway! Besides…I deserve it. That guy wouldn't have any of his money back if I hadn't stepped in!"

"Dude…" Wally West reached up to slick back his long red locks. "Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Look, I need it! I need it to find Speedy," Red Arrow justified his actions. "The real Roy Harper. A search like that is expensive. Especially when the rest of you have all given up!"

"What do you want from us, Roy?" Danny questioned. "You want us to spend our whole lives searching for someone that's probably dead?"

"You shut up!" Red Arrow hissed. He rushed forward to grab Danny by the collar. "I don't want to hear anything from you! I wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't cut me off! You have the money! If you just supported me then I wouldn't have to steal!"

"Quit being a child," Danny pushed Red Arrow away with a single arm. With his current thinner frame, Roy couldn't stop himself from stumbling back and falling onto his rear. "I helped fund the search for years! Far longer than I should have. Even after that stuff with Nekron and I had already swore to myself that I would stop…I wanted to contribute to justice, but I could see that you were killing yourself. I couldn't support your death, asshole!"

"I…" Red Arrow flipped over to get on his hands and knees. "I don't deserve to live. Not after stealing the real Roy's life."

* * *

Spirit leaned down to place her head next a beautiful redhead woman in a wheelchair, "This seems pretty theatrical, Oracle."

"Hush," Barbara Gordon smirked to her friend. "We're preventing any more secret invasions, after all. With all those signal jammers in orbit, we have to take every precaution necessary."

"Uh huh," Spirit snorted. "You do realize that my hometown is straight out of science fiction, right? I see stuff like this every day."

"Fine. Point taken, but we work as people flying through the air in clothes that act like a second skin," Barbara mentioned. "You should expect a bit of theatrics by now."

"Fair enough," Spirit watched the holographic window as the orb satellites projected a golden barrier to stop Zeta teleportation between planets.

"Congratulations," Adam Strange smiled from the image of his lab in another state. "The Zeta Shield is now operational."

"Absolutely historic," Lagoon Boy was oddly wearing a polo shirt as he hugged Miss Martian from behind. Spirit frowned at the sight. Even months after their breakup, it was still strange to see M'gann be intimate with anyone other than Superboy. "With the Zeta Shield in place no alien can teleport to our planet from off world. Even your Strange friend won't be able to travel to-and-from Rann without prior approval."

"Shield's great," Superboy grunted as he stepped across the Cave entrance hall. Young Justice's secret base was the carved out insides of Mount Justice. They stood on the metal plating which led to several Zeta Tubes which could transport them to almost anywhere in the world if needed. "But it won't stop a spaceship or a boom tube."

"What's a 'boom tube'?" Jaime Reyes questioned. Outside of his armor, Blue Beetle was a Hispanic young man with short hair and brown eyes. He was the kind of guy that most people wouldn't look twice at normally. While his question was fair, the answer came from an unexpected place.

' **Boom tube. An alternate means of instant transport between distant locations. Not compatible.** '

"Not compatible with what?" Jaime crossed his arms in indignation. "I swear, I don't understand half the things you say."

All eyes turned to Blue Beetle. Cyborg voiced their thoughts, "Yeah. I understand what you mean."

Spirit continued to eye the newest addition to the Team. While most couldn't hear the scarab A.I. which came with the armor, she could make out most of its intentions, although the direct message which transferred from the machine to the human was lost to her. She wished that she could hear more in order to see if her family's suspicions on the boy were true.

"Where's Nightwing?" Superboy questioned Oracle.

"How should I know?" Barbara shrugged. "I'm not his keeper."

"Barb…"

Oracle sighed, "Fine. He's dealing with personal business."

"Perfect," Superboy grumbled. He nodded at Spirit. "Looks like it's a team of three."

"Nope," Spirit stepped away from Oracle. She grabbed Jaime by the shoulder. "Tag. That's four. Onward to adventure!"

"W-Woah!" Jaime stumbled after her. "W-What's up?"

"Self-assigned mission," Spirit noted. "You, me, Superboy, and Cyborg. Good experience for you."

Superboy quickly caught up to her, "Ah, Spirit. This one's kind of…"

"Hey, this is my fault," Cyborg rushed after them. "I wanted to work with BB more to—"

"Don't!" Miss Martian's voice made everyone in the room freeze. "Don't call him BB."

"R-Right," Cyborg rubbed the back of his head.

Superboy shook his head, "Fine. Let's just out of here."

* * *

"Okay, stinkburgers, let me get this straight," a bald young man of extremely short stature glared to the group of heroes in his home base. "She's an escaped alien slave from outer space. You saved her and decided to lie low for a while, when this creepo came back to life. You told his girlfriend that he was back, and she now refuses to leave him alone. Now, some technopath wannabe cleared all the data from the alien ship, so you need a large enough meeting space for all of you."

"That about sums it up, Gizmo," Dusk nodded.

Gizmo turned to glare at a green-skinned ghost dressed in a cloak and leotard. Her entire body was covered in tattoos except for her pierced head with several spikes sticking out of it, "And why did you bring them here, Lydia?"

Lydia shrugged, "You were the one that said that Dusk could crash here if needed."

"I meant only him! And off in the corner or something! Do you really think that all this commotion is good for Ace?!" Gizmo snapped. His shouts echoed across the underground base. This caused the other residents of the room to look up from what they were doing, ranging from riding a skateboard on a ramp to modifying ectoplasmic guns.

Red Hood snorted. He glanced around the large base which reminded him of a more brightly lit and cleaner Batcave filled with games, obstacle courses, and computers, "Looks like you have plenty of room."

"Besides," Ravager showingly crossed her legs from her seat. "I would think that you would love to have your home invaded by hot chicks."

Gizmo's beady eyes glanced to the four gorgeous women with Dusk's group, "You kidding? My girlfriend is someone that can literally melt my mind. I can't even think about stuff like that anymore."

"Ah, it is good to see that having a lady within thy life has help thee improve thy morals," Troia mentioned. Outside of her island home, she wore black clothing decorated with stars and the familiar symbol of Wonder Woman on her chest.

"Moral? You high or something?" Gizmo shook his head. "You know what it's like to date a girl who can read your mind? You can't get away with shit. She always gets all mopey like 'Am I not good enough for you?' Gah! Looking's not a crime damn it!"

"Sounds rough," Red Hood nodded in understanding. "Ow!"

Troia elbowed him, "Hush."

"How is Ace doing?" Herald questioned.

"She's alive," Lydia sighed. "That's better than what most doctors would have predicted."

"I'll fix her," Gizmo shrugged. "Curing cancer can't be too hard, right?"

"You need any help?" Gear's eyes shined at the challenge. "I could upload all of your data into my mind and see what the next best step would be."

"No thanks," Gizmo grunted. "You focus on your alien shit."

"He has a point. That is why we are all here," Black Bat looked to Gear. "Could you please share the information you deciphered?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry for the delay by the way. Still got school, friends, family, and a lack of proper processing power on my computer. It took pretty long to come up with a direct translation for some of their info," Gear ordered Backpack to jump off onto the floor. The computer projected holograms into the air. "We got a lot of info from the Citadel computers. A lot of it is war strategies in separate sections of the universe, but I did get some interesting stuff. Like Starfire said, Citadel allied with Tamaran to gain a higher standing. It's working by the way."

Starfire frowned upon seeing a holographic image of her home planet, "I'm so glad that my traitorous sister is getting exactly what she wants."

"Sorry, I'm just the messenger," Gear shrugged. "But I doubt that there will much trouble from them again. The real news I got is why the Citadel isn't willing to go to war with us over Star. You know, besides the Guardians of the Universe."

"Why?" Dusk questioned.

"Because they would get put right in the spotlight of some of the largest factions in the universe. Forgetting the whole controversy with the League being tried by intergalactic courts…" Gear explained. "Apokolips. New Genesis. The Reach. The Yellow and Red Lanterns. Not to mention some individual powerhouses like…Mongul? It think that's his name…"

"Oh Thorpox!" Starfire grew pale. "That…That is a lot of big names…"

"More Lanterns?" Ravager released an exasperated sigh. "Wasn't the Black Lanterns enough? Now there's two of them…"

"New Genesis and Apokolips," Herald hummed. "There's plenty of illegal tech from there. To my knowledge, we've only had a few low ranking people from their visit here, though. Superboy has a story about the 'Forever People'."

"What about the halfas being wanted by that Apokolips place?" Black Bat questioned.

"Now, that's the real information," Gear switched the holograms to show the wanted posters for Dusk's family. "According to the dates, these came out right after Phantom faded away."

"So they have spies here," Red Hood mentioned.

Gear nodded, "Right. Their leader seems to have an unhealthy obsession with our planet…and Danny Phantom."

Gizmo raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Um…This part was hard to translate…" Gizmo frowned. "It was close to…peak evolution…never ending immortality…end of free life? Err…Anti-Life or something."

Lydia shrugged, "That makes no sense."

"Nope, but that's what is said," Gear sighed. "Oh…and I found out that there was a wanted poster for one more person from this planet."

"Who?"

The hologram shifted to a man with blue skin and fiery white hair, "That guy you called Dark Dan."

* * *

Vlad frowned at the list of names in his hands, "What about Raven's brothers?"

"The Sons of Trigon?" Vision shook her head. "I monitored them. They've lost all of their abilities after demons were banished from the world."

Vlad sighed, "Well, it was worth trying."

The couple sat in their living room. They were not alone in this instance, though. They were joined by Silas Stone and a woman dressed in a red dress suit. Her face showed the bite of age creeping up on her. Her scarlet hair pointed up into two points. Penelope Spectra was one of the few former enemies who had been given a second chance because of the Reality Gauntlet.

Spectra glanced at her own copy of the lists of names, "Recruiting fighters for a potential invasion…There's not many people left who aren't connected to the League. I can see why you brought me in."

Vision nodded, "Most of the people closest have either passed away or were separated from us when the dimensional rifts were closed."

"Ever thought about opening the rift secretly to bring in some ghosts?" Silas questioned.

Vlad shook his head, "We have, but it could prove to be counterproductive. It hasn't been that long since the Blackest Night. Someone in the government will probably detect the surge of energy, and then we'll have to deal with the political backlash. I imagine that the alien invaders will take advantage of such chaos."

"So that's a no," Silas scratched his chin. "What about Frostbite and his people? He's still helping Aquaman in Atlantis, right?"

"Yes," Vision sighed. "But Kaldur will quickly figure out that we're trying to build a fighting force. He is a member of the League. I imagine that would create a conflict of interest."

"It might be something to look into, though," Spectra noted. "Atlantis and Themyscira are both hidden from the mundane world. Invaders might not be able to spy in those locations."

"There are high risks of exposure to the League, though," Vlad sighed. "I doubt that they will appreciate us trying to make our own fighting force."

"Then why not involve the League?" Silas questioned.

"The League has good uses. Their morals make people believe in them. Unbending morals make a war hard to win," Vision lowered her head to examine her growing stomach. "I'd prefer to crush this threat quietly and quickly."

The other three occupants of the room shared awkward looks. Vlad coughed to try to change the subject, "I have managed to get into contact with Joel, but he's been extremely busy as of late. Apparently, he's amassed a large group of friends capable of fighting. That's a good first step, but I wanted you two to help. Do you have any ideas?"

"I can come up with some weapon designs," Silas mentioned.

Spectra paused, "Have you spoken with Danny about this? I mean…Harriet and Damien work for him."

"No," Vision looked back up. "He's given almost everything he could already. It would feel like we were mocking him if we asked for his help."

"You might not have a choice," Spectra paused when the doorbell rang.

"Ah, our last guests," Vlad stood. "Excuse me for a moment."

As the half-ghost stepped out of the room, Spectra reached for her phone. None of the other people in the room thought the motion was odd. Instead of contacting anyone with the device, she stared at the screensaver of her with her family. Her young child stood between her and Bertrand. Light brown hair covered the top of his head, and a wide smile covered his face. Her eyes sparked with pain while staring at her baby's face. It seemed like everyone was interested in recruiting people with extraordinary power, yet she refused to speak up. Her life as a mother came first. Colin would never be allowed to fight in an alien invasion.

* * *

"Sorry about back there," Cyborg looked over the Blue Beetle. The group of four heroes along with the Teams' pet Wolf, the white haired genetically enhanced canine, were all flying through the air on the spacious Supercycle. "I forgot about that nickname being a hot topic."

"Why?" Blue Beetle asked.

"Beast Boy," Spirit bit her lips. "He died during the Blackest Night. He was like a little brother to her."

"Not just her," Superboy growled.

"Oh," Blue Beetle squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything," Spirit shrugged. "Superboy, let's give the freshmen a rundown."

Superboy sighed, "Fine."

He pressed a button on the dashboard to activate a few holographic pictures. Superboy then began his explanation, "The bomb Red X used last month to destroy Malina Island was clearly of alien origin. Obviously the Kroloteans that perished there didn't know anything about it. So we need to figure out where it came from. The criminal organization Intergang has a history of trafficking in alien tech smuggled to Earth through boom tubes. So I've been keeping tabs on Whisper A'Daire one of Intergang's top lieutenants. Tonight her boss Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim crawled out of hiding to meet up with her. We have both in that truck. And it looks like they are headed for the Hall of Justice."

"Oh," Blue Beetle looked down to the city of Washington DC down below them. "Well, that explains the location."

"Make sure to stay quiet," Spirit explained to the newbie. "Untrained people almost never look up unless given a reason. So don't go arguing with that A.I. in your head."

Blue Beetle's eyes widened, "H-How did you know about that?!"

Spirit tapped her ears, "I hear intentions. No idea what the thing is saying, but I know it's usually giving advice and information to you. I never brought it up because it was your business."

Superboy grunted, "That explains the weird outbursts. Try to answer mentally more often. People will start to think that you're going nuts if they see you shouting out to the sky."

"R-Right," Blue Beetle nodded.

The group went quiet as they approached the impressive structure known as the Hall of Justice. They watched as a rather unseemly looking man stepped out of a van with a beautiful redheaded woman. Keeping their distance they watched duo approach the building.

Superboy used his enhanced vision to spy on them from a distance, "Can either of you two scan that briefcase."

Both of Cyborg and Blue Beetles arms shifted into scanners. After a few seconds, Cyborg shook his head, "Too much interference."

"Not compatible again," Blue Beetle hissed. "Just like the Boom Tube."

"Huh?" Superboy continued to watch the outlaws. "Can you scan the Hall? Thermal vision isn't helping right now."

They followed the order. Blue Beetle shrugged, "Hall's deserted."

"Keep following them," Spirit leaned forward in order to see.

"Right," Superboy maneuvered the Supercycle to follow their targets around to the side of the Hall. When Ugly opened the briefcase to show a crimson device, their ride flinched back in fear.

Cyborg frowned, "Similar to boom tubes. Sphere is afraid. That thing's Apocalyptic."

"What does that mean?" Blue Beetle questioned.

"It means that it's time to intervene!" Spirit flew up from her seat. She rocketed towards her targets at top speed. As she moved, Ugly activated the device, releasing a signal into the air. Not affected by the strange red waves, Spirit continued her charge. Right before she could land a hit on her enemy, a massive fist smashed through the wall to send her rolling.

"Spirit!" Cyborg leapt from his seat to help his lover. As he moved, the owner of the fist exited the Hall of Justice. It was a strange massive golem made up of rock, crystal, and roots. Strange yellow writing marked its face and limbs.

"Attack," Ugly commanded.

Roaring, the creature punched forward to force the heroes to scatter. While Cyborg helped a surprisingly dazed Spirit to her feet, Wolf and Superboy moved forward to try to tear down the giant. Despite Wolf's teeth tearing out the roots which made up its feet and Superboy easily cracking the crystal on its head, the golem remained perfectly fine as it immediately regenerated its injuries. Seeing its owner in danger, the Supercycle released a sound wave to counteract Ugly's device. A previously wincing Blue Beetle was then allowed to recover from his stunned state.

"What is that thing?" Blue Beetle questioned.

' **Appelaxian golem**.' the scarab noted.

"You know, I'm bilingual, and I still have no idea what you just said!"

' **Irrelevant. Attack!** '

"Okay," Blue Beetle floated up as his wings extended. "That I get!"

Superboy saw Blue's arm shift into a sonic cannon, "Blue, no!"

He was too late. Blue unleashed a sound attack which immediately was absorbed by the golem. After charging it for a few second, the golem release the blue waves back at its foes. They were all sent flying back by the rebounded attack. Once they were all grounded, the golem stepped on Blue to keep him down.

"They're down," Whisper noted. "Can we kill them?"

"Nah." Ugly shook his head. "Trying to kill a Kryptonian could be time consuming. The League will be here any second. Let's just get gone."

The golem roared as wings extended from its back. Picking up its masters with its arm, it flew straight up into the air to carry them to safety. Lifting her head up, Spirit glared at them. Even from this distance she could still feel the intentions from the creature.

'End pain! End pain! Kill me! End pain!'

* * *

"So it comes to that," Danny reached up to rub his temples. "Look, Roy. We don't care that you're a clone. You're talking to the guy that has a clone for a sister and is best friends with a half-Kryptonian clone."

"And it's not like we ever really knew the original Roy to begin with," Wally shrugged.

Nightwing nodded, "We did the math. None of our generation ever came into contact with the original Roy. You're our friend. Not him."

"That doesn't make it right!" Red Arrow hissed.

"Hey, I know how it feels to come to terms with being a clone made for evil purposes," Jim Harper, the former Guardian, spoke up. While he shared the exact same facial features as Roy, he looked far more in shape than the other clone. "You can't dwell on it, though. No one gets to choose how they come into this world. We only get to choose who we become, and it seems to me that you're making some terrible choices."

"My choices have all been made to save the guy who's responsible for giving me life in the first place!" Roy slammed his fists into the ground. "You can compare me to whoever you want, but you know it's not the same. I stole the real Roy's life! I have to give it back to him!"

"You won't be able to do anything like this," Green Arrow extended a hand out. "Come back to Star City. We can train and get you healthy again. Then, when you're clearheaded, you can decide what to do next."

"I'm perfectly fine!" Red Arrow argued while pushing himself to his feet. "I'm in the best shape of my life?"

"Best shape of your life, huh?" Black Canary rushed forward to attack him. With wide eyes, Roy tried to push her back. She easily overcame him with only a few moves and held him over the edge of the roof. "I think not. I was holding back. A LOT. And a civilian pushed you down with one arm. No offense, Danny."

Danny waved her off, "None taken."

Black Canary pulled Roy back onto the roof. Once she released him, he stumbled for a bit, "I can't waste any more time! Every moment he's still on ice is a moment I'm taking from him!"

Wally sighed, "You think that he's still on ice? Dude…I hate to tell you this, but you're probably wrong. Why would the Light keep him alive? They had no use for him as far as I can tell. Their entire policy is to destroy everything that isn't useful to them anymore. Trust me, I know. You need to move on."

"Like you've moved on?" Red Arrow hissed.

"Roy!" Nightwing raised a hand. "Don't—"

"You only look better than me because your powers keep your body from degrading!" Red Arrow hissed. "At least I have some kind of purpose! What are you doing, huh?! You've just been some slob coasting through life! Artemis would be sick if she saw you now!"

"Roy," Wally's voice became dangerously serious. "I want you to think about your next words very carefully."

"Why? You can't take the truth you're trying to push on me? At least you got to see her body! You know for sure that she's dead! I have no clue!" Roy clenched his fists. "That's not something I can let go. Unlike you. Isn't Nightwing the one that sent her to go undercover? Look how that worked out. Yet you're here with him. Shows you how much you cared about her—"

"Enough!" Wally moved faster than it was possible to see. Everyone was knocked back as electricity burst off of the speedster, allowing him to move at speeds which would kill a normal person if he so much as touched them.

* * *

Dusk followed Lydia and Gizmo into a medical clean room. They all wore medical gowns, gloves, and face masks to avoid contaminating the area. At the center of dozens of machines was a bed holding a tiny teenage girl with a shaved head. While most of her body was covered by sheets, her pale head was visible. Tubes connected to her nose stood out of her overly pale face with heavy bags under her dark eyes.

"Dusk," Ace whispered weakly to the ghost. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too," Dusk took a seat next to the telepath. "You wanted to see me."

Ace gave a light nod, "I don't get a lot of visitors. Seeing a different face is nice. You're the only one of that group that I trust to see me in such a vulnerable state."

"You don't need any excitement," Gizmo noted. "You need rest before the next round of Chemo treatments."

"Let me live just a little bit," Ace complained.

"I won't work her up," Dusk softly stated.

"We know," Lydia nodded. "If not, then we wouldn't have let you in here."

"I like you ghosts," Ace mentioned. "Vision was the first one to be nice to me. She and some of your family visit me every now and then. Your presence is comforting. I don't have to focus on not accidentally reading your minds."

Dusk frowned, "So you just naturally read minds?"

Ace nodded, "I was naturally gifted with my powers. The Light's experiments only enhanced them. If I don't focus on keeping other people's voices out, then their thoughts tend to drip in…and it's getting harder to stay focused. So I heard your friend's thoughts. The Light is on the move again."

Gizmo hissed, "I knew that I shouldn't have let them in."

"No…no…" Ace took a deep breath. "I want to know. There's a chance that they will come for me, after all."

Lydia sighed, "We're not going to work against them. Not with you so weakened."

"I know," Ace looked to Dusk. "But the Light needs to go. Not just because of my own revenge, but because they keep ruining lives. They are a tumor that needs to be cut out. In my experience, it all needs to be cut out or it will return."

"So you're going to try to convince me to fight," Dusk clenched his fists. "I don't know if I can. I'm so sick of the violence and fighting against my own instincts, and the only way for Ra's to stay dead is for me to kill him and take his place."

"Wouldn't you be better as the Demon's Head?" Ace questioned. "You could bring actual morals to the Shadows."

"I don't want to talk about this," Dusk looked away. "It's my life, and I don't want to spend it by leading assassins."

Gizmo grunted upon seeing Ace's depressed look, "Geeze…Fine. You know what, Dusk? I know how you feel. Parents suck. Mine put a lot of pressure on me. Genetic modifications to make me as smart as possible. The best tutors in the world. Everything that I could get to make me a genius was put in my lap. They had a destiny for me. Save the world. Be a hero. Cure cancer. I got sick of it and ran away, yet here I am curing goddamn cancer. Sometimes we can't avoid doing what we were born to do. Right, Ann?"

Ace nodded, "I have a purpose too, Dusk. It was taken from me by my sister, but I will get it back. I won't run from my fate. You shouldn't either. After all, the perfect fighting force has fallen into your lap. I know you're sick of fighting, but think about how you'll feel later if you don't take advantage of what you have while you have it."

* * *

Spirit smacked Blue Beetle upside the head, "Why in the hell did you use a sonic attack against the Appelaxian?"

"Ow!" Blue Beetle rubbed the spot where she hit. "I never even heard of an Appe-laxative before tonight!"

Superboy sighed as he continued to drive the Supercycle to chase after Whisper and Ugly, "You freshmen never do the homework."

"Dude," Cyborg shook his head. "They're the alien race that the League first worked together to beat. This is vigilante 101, man. Didn't I tell you to study the enemy profiles in the League's database?"

' **I told you to use the information available to you,** ' the scarab hissed. ' **Never throw away relevant data.** '

"Look, I'm sorry!" Blue tried to defend himself.

"Don't worry. We're all okay," Spirit noted. "Just remember this lesson. When we get back, start studying. But for now know that the crystals can echo back sound attacks. Stick to the plasma cannon."

"But why were they in the Hall in the first place?" Blue Beetle questioned.

Superboy explained, "The original seven members of the League drove the energy beings off world. The empty husks the aliens left behind became the League's first trophies. Ugly's device must have reactivated the husks. Combined them somehow into a creature he could control. Sphere's tracking the device's Apokoliptian energy readings. We're closing in."

"Be careful with that creature," Spirit spoke to her friends. "That thing is in serious pain. I don't know what it is or if it's alive, but I don't know what it will do if it's freed. Let me go ahead and try to steal the controls."

Superboy nodded. Spirit took off ahead once more. She flew through the snow covered forest invisibly. As she drew closer, she slowed in order to avoid detection. Once she spotted her targets, she began to sneak around them.

"It sounds sad," Whisper mentioned.

Ugly scoffed, "Don't go sentimental on me A'Daire. It's a construct of wood, stone etc. This gizmo pulled together the residual psychic energy of its former alien hosts. But that monster doesn't feel anything. And with this thing as my enforcer I can expand Intergang's reach ex-po-nen-tiall-y."

"Wow, five syllables," Superboy distracted them by floating above them, "I didn't think you knew any words with more than two."

"Hilarious," Ugly moved to press a button on his control panel but was forced to release it when Spirit kicked him away.

Holding onto the device, Spirit smirked at the surprised Whisper, "You sure picked one hell of a Valentines date, Whisper. A flight through the forest. How romantic."

Whisper shouted in shock as Cyborg fired off an ectoplasmic blast which covered their targets in cocoons of goo.

"But I think my boyfriend still wins out," Spirit chuckled. "Nothing says love more than kicking ass together."

* * *

The two newest guests of Masters Manor stood in complete contrast to each other. One was dressed in a suit, while the other was dressed in biker leather. The first man had well-groomed brown hair, and the ghost had a wild mane accompanied by facial stubble. Despite their obvious differences, their personalities seemed to mesh well as they shared a drink on the couch.

"Bloody hell," John Constantine grunted after downing the whiskey in his cup. "This is a goddamn smack to the face. I love it. You get this from my home land across the pond?"

"Yep," Johnny 13 sipped straight from the bottle. "Been all over the place looking for Kitty. It seems impossible to catch up to her. Bright side is I got to try a lot of different kinds of booze."

"Kitty is the villain known as Thorn, correct?" Spectra questioned.

"Yep," Johnny sighed. "It was easier to track her before she got on the most wanted list. That damn reporter just had to notice the similarities between the events before and after her death. Started to pull up info on Charles. You can imagine how much that pissed her off."

Silas frowned, "I think that I'm a bit lost. Victor seemed to want to avoid talking about this stuff, so I never tried to dig too deeply. Charles was Youngblood, right?"

"Yeah. My kid…" Johnny shook his head. "You know that he was the one who looked out for us? Kept our memories sealed in order to keep the Thorn persona under control. That went away when he…you know, during Blackest Night. What a shitty father I am, huh?"

"Not like you could have done anything," Vlad mentioned.

"I could have not died," Johnny scowled. "Wore a helmet. Don't be reckless on my bike. Anything to keep my family from having to live without me."

Vision sighed, "What we should have done in our previous lives is clear in retrospect. We're still here because of those regrets."

"Yeah," Johnny nodded. "That's why I'm here. Your message said that you're trying to build up forces against the Light and the aliens, right? Count me in."

Spectra raised an eyebrow, "I didn't expect you to give your cooperation so easily."

"Thorn is a member of the Light now," Johnny shrugged. "Even when I do catch up to her, I don't know how much I can do on my own."

"I heard 'bout that," Constantine twirled his cane. "The Light is complete again. Black Manta is the obvious replacement of Ocean Master. Thorn takes Klarion's spot. And some guy named the Phoenix is now in the position of the Brain."

"Hmm," Johnny took a sip of his drink. "Interrogated a few guys during my search. No one's willing to whisper a real name. Apparently, this guy is brutal. Shot a longtime friend right in the face because they became a problem."

"We will need to hunt down more information on him," Vision sighed.

"Well, I'm willing to help too," Constantine nodded. "I haven't had contact with the League for a while. Maybe I shouldn't have burned so many bridges when Zatanna and I split…"

"Then this was a productive evening," Vlad nodded.

"Oh, before I forget, there was another reason that I was quick to accept the meeting," Johnny grunted. "Your daughter…Dani, right? Yeah, Kitty found out about how my kid loved her and sacrificed himself to save her."

"Oh," Vision clenched her fist.

Johnny nodded, "Yeah. You can image how an unhinged mom would handle finding out that her son gave his life for a girl that never loved him back. If I were you, I'd try to keep those two as far apart as possible."

Vlad looked away in frustration. He wanted to keep his kids out of this as much as possible. Every new development seemed to put them into more danger. Both Dani and Joel were in deep with this conspiracy by now. If the whole family was involved, it would be irresponsible to leave one person out of the loop. Sighing, he knew what he had to do. It was time to tell Danny.

* * *

Red Arrow felt sweat roll down his brow. He looked to his left to see Wally's fist right by his head. A quick glance back revealed that the force of the blow released a pocket of energy which punched through a water tank on the roof behind him. The speedsters terrifying features were only intensified by how his body was vibrating with electricity.

"Don't you ever talk about Artemis like that. I loved her more than anything," pulling his fist back, Wally turned away, "I'm done with this. We all came because we care about you, you bastard. If you just want to rot away, then fine. I won't stop you. Despite what you might think, I do have better things to do."

"Wally!" Nightwing tried to reach out for the former Kid Flash but couldn't catch the speedster. Wally rushed off the roof faster than anyone could react. Once on the streets, he disappeared with a small boom of lightning. "Damn it."

"Well, that's it, I guess," shoving his hands into his pocket, Danny stepped over to the stairs.

"We're not done here!" Green Arrow exclaimed. "We can't just give up on Roy!"

"You can't help people who won't help themselves. Make sure to tell Kaldur that I said hi, Nightwing. If he's too busy for this, then he must be swamped," Danny looked over his shoulder to give Roy one last glance. "We all have wounds that we're trying to get over, Roy. This is a hard lifestyle. I knew that. Artemis knew that. The original Roy knew that. We're all trying to move past everything, but wounds will never become scars if you keep cutting them open."

With that said, Danny moved down the stairs to leave the heroes in their final moments of their conversation. When he knew that he was out of hearing range, he pulled out his phone to make a call, "Yeah. We just finished. It's all on you now. No problem, Jade."

Putting his phone away, Danny continued to descend the stairs. As he moved, he remembered the pained look in Wally's face. He could also remember the sadness in Cheshire's voice, "Damn it."

* * *

Blue Beetle stared up at the golem as it moaned in pain, "I think I might be able to communicate with this thing if I alter the frequency of my sound wave."

Lugging Whisper and Ugly to the seats of the Supercyle, Superboy nodded, "Do it."

The armored teen raised his sonic cannon to unleash the sound waves. Upon making contact with the golem, Blue winced in agony, "Woah, you were right, ese. This thing is in serious pain. It wants us to end…it. Woah."

Cyborg sighed, "What are we going to do with it?"

Spirit handed the controls over to him, "We help it of course."

Blue stopped his sonic connection, "How?"

"We'll figure something back when we get back to the Cave," Spirit gently placed a hand on the golem's foot. "Don't worry. We'll stop the pain. You won't have to die. Everything will work out. You can even live at the Cave."

The creature moaned. Her Premonition told her that it was trying to thank her. Before she could say anything, a sonic wave burst from the surrounding forest to slam into the golem. Pure suffering surged through Spirit's mind as her new friend unleashed a wail of agony.

'No! Want to live! Want to repay kind lady! Don't want to die—'

Everyone was sent tumbling back as the creature burst into the different elements of which it was made up. Tiny particles of light drifted down onto their downed forms. The echoes of the golem's final scream echoed off the trees for a brief second before they faded away to leave the forest completely silent.

Spirit was desperately clutching at her head. She had never felt that before. There was so much pain. It was an agonizing pain that seemed to stab into her very soul. The only thing that existed around that was the deep desire for the pain to come to an end.

But then…there was nothing…

As a ghost, Spirit was very well acquainted with death. This was different, though. There was peace in death. There was comfort. All that existed now was a lingering cry of complete suffering. Then, nothing. It was the pain of being completely erased into nonexistence.

Tears ran down her face. She clenched her fists so hard that her nails pierced her skin. A low hiss escaped her lips. This was sin. This was unforgivable. This needed to be punished. Dark thoughts ran through her mind. Images of cutting off limbs flashed through her mind. That was right. This didn't call for death…

She was going make the person responsible for this wish for death.

"Grah!" Spirit jumped to her feet. She rushed to the still trapped forms of Whisper and Ugly. "Who did that?!"

"I-I don't know," Ugly whimpered. "I didn't tell anyone else about our plans."

"Doing a scan of the forest," Blue Beetle noted. "Nothing. Whoever did it is long gone. Not even a trace."

"Damn it!" Superboy punched a tree causing it to crack.

Cyborg was pale, "Whoever it was probably didn't want us to get our hands on such firepower so they…eliminated it."

Spirit fought the urge to cry. Once again, she failed to save someone who was in pain. She glared into the now empty forest. Whoever did this was going to pay. Her eyes darted to Blue Beetle. Whoever killed the golem used a sonic wave similar to Jaime's powers. Interesting.

* * *

"So I got replaced, huh?" Red Hood mentioned while staring at the profiles of all the new players in the hero life. While most of their group had left for the day, those with nowhere else to really go remained in the base of the Royal Flush Gang even as their hosts retired.

"I wouldn't say replaced," Dusk shook his head. "He's a smart guy. Batman started to get more brutal without you around, so he volunteered to be the new Robin in order to help calm the big man down."

"If it makes thee feel better, Diana replaced me as well," Troia chuckled. "Although, I think that 'Wonder Girl' is a very different partner compared to me."

"These people seem very interesting," Starfire mentioned. "Will I get to meet them soon? New friends is always a good thing."

"I'm sure we'll run into them eventually," Dusk sighed. "But right now, there's enough people around me already."

"Oh?" Red Hood snorted. "Sick of us?"

"More of sick of the situation," Dusk admitted. "I feel like I'm getting dragged back into this BS. I've been traveling to get away from this stuff."

"I understand how thou feels, Joel," Troia stated. "But thou cannot deny that things are ramping up no matter what thou does. I'm not volunteering to become active in missions again. Not after just getting back what I lost, but there is a chance that we might need to fight again."

Dusk grunted.

Starfire gave the ghost a worried look, "I feel like I'm missing something."

"Don't worry about it," Dusk shook his head. "I guess you're right, Donna, and I don't care if you keep hanging around me; but I don't exactly have the resources to keep a space alien, a resurrected ninja, and an Amazon princess safe. You sure that you don't want to at least contact Alfred, Jason?"

"I…" Red Hood looked away angrily. "He'll want to tell Nightwing. I'm not ready for that yet. He and Batman…They weren't going to do anything about the Joker. It pisses me off. I can't just let that go."

Dusk looked down, "To be fair…I wouldn't have…err…I don't actually know what I would have done back then."

"I know," Red Hood removed his mask to show a bitter smile. "Things were messed up back then. I'm taking that into account, but it doesn't change the fact that my…family would just let my killer go. I don't know how I'll react if I see their faces."

Dusk was about to say something else when his phone went off. A quick glance to his device showed that Gear was calling him, "Err, one second."

Dusk answered his phone, "Yeah? What do you—"

" _Dude! Oh dude! I got some serious issues right now?!"_

"What?"

" _You remember my friend Virgil? He went missing! His family can't find him anywhere!"_

* * *

(Sunday-February 14, 2016)

Danny tiredly approached Fenton Works. The massive brick building towered over him with the massive metal operations system on the top. Flashing neon lights on the front of the structure were a bit too gaudy for his tastes, but his father always loved the massive lights so he couldn't bring himself to change it. As he stepped up to the door, he noticed a familiar face waiting for him, "Vlad?"

"Daniel," Vlad nodded to the young man. "I'm sorry for stopping in so unexpectedly, but I needed to talk to you immediately."

"It must be important if you're away from Vision on Valentine's Day," Danny stepped up next to his mentor. "Do you want to come in?"

"No, no. I would prefer this to be a one-on-one conversation without Ember involved. You see…" Vlad went on to explain everything that had happened since the turn of the New Year. He started at the Kroloteans' attempt to replace him and ended with the meeting of the current evening. While he spoke, Danny's face twisted with concern.

"Woah. This is heavy," Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Nightwing mentioned some stuff about the aliens, but I figured he left a lot of stuff out. People have been treating me with kid's gloves for a while."

"I'm sorry," Vlad apologized. "It wasn't just you. I wanted to keep Danielle and Joel out of this as well, but they've been thrust into this already. So I figured that you should know. It would be wrong if you were the only one left in the dark."

"Well, thanks for telling me," Danny paused. "So the Kroloteans are alive?"

"Yeah. They're working for us now," Vlad nodded.

"I see. Them. Joel's group. The forces that you're building up," Danny hummed to himself. "That's a good start. Count me in. I'll do everything I can to help. Harriet and Damien will probably be willing to help too."

"Thank you," Vlad sighed in relief. "I know that this is a lot to ask from you. You've given a lot already to try to keep the peace."

"Don't worry about it. I would never leave my family to fight for themselves," Danny gave a wide smile. "Just make sure not to hide anything anymore, okay? If I'm going to help, we shouldn't keep secrets from each other."

* * *

Red Arrow groaned as he crashed down on the couch in his torn down hideout. Before he could relax for more than a single second, a voice called out to him, "Someone looks worse for wear."

Jumping off the couch, Red Arrow pulled out his bow and pointed it at the shadowy figure. His eyes widened when he saw who it was, "Cheshire?!"

Dressed in a torn green kimono, the raven haired woman pulled off her smiling cat mask to reveal her beautiful features, "Chill, Red. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to make you clean up your act."

"Not you too," Red Arrow sighed as he moved back to the couch. "Forget it, Jade. It's not like you're one to talk. You went nuts after Artemis was killed. You ever figure out who her mystery killer was?"

Cheshire looked away in bitterness, "No, and I don't think that I ever will. Even Dad's given up at this point. I'd have to take down the whole Light to get my revenge, and it's not worth it. Not now. I have too much to lose, my foolish husband."

"Oh?" Red Arrow scoffed. "And what's that? Our screwed up marriage?"

"Partially. I do want our daughter to have something I never did. An attentive father."

Red Arrow's eyes widened, "Daughter?"

Cheshire reached behind her to remove the baby carrier which she was using to safely lift her babe. Upon being freed, the tiny girl cooed upon seeing the man which shared her hair color, "Her name is Lian."

Red Arrow's eyes were wide, "I-I didn't…"

"I know. I never told you," Cheshire gently handed the child to her husband. "I didn't know when I first left, and I was so obsessed…it doesn't matter now. She was born healthy and safe. Her…her middle name is Artemis."

"She's beautiful," Red Arrow muttered in awe.

"Yeah," Cheshire shook her head. "When I saw her, I knew that I had to give up on what was already lost or Lian would grow up without me. Children need their parents. Artemis was lucky and turned out well…but I'm pretty messed up. Out of the two of us, you're actually the most stable when you have things together. So I need…Lian needs you to be her father."

Red Arrow had no words.

"But…I know you. You won't let this go, so I turned in every favor I had…and some that I didn't," Cheshire sighed. "Black Bat has been researching the Shadows. Years of recon let her learn of one last secret research facility. If the original Roy is anywhere, it's there. That's why I waited till I was back in shape to contact you. So this is my proposal. One last mission. Either way this goes, you'll have your answer. Once it's done, no more of this nonsense."

"Black Bat's been out of contact for years…"

"Not for one oddball that never really gave up on your stupid a…butt," Cheshire corrected herself while in the presence of her daughter. "Danny told me that you'd be here tonight. He's the godfather by the way. I'm sure Artemis would have wanted it to be Kid Flash, but…he is Kid Flash."

"Wow…"

"Yeah, you better thank him later," Cheshire sighed. "Even without his powers, he's still a hero. Our family owes him a lot."

* * *

(Wednesday-February 14, 2046)

Luna knelt upon the ashen dirt of the planet Earth. Everything around her was gray. The ground, sky, and sea all seemed dull and lifeless. Even the board sticking out of the dirt directly in front of her was decaying. It was the best that she could spare in this moment, though. Her shining blue human eyes took in the sight of what was left of her only remaining family member. Despite the dullness of the world, she felt happy that she could fulfill her guardian's last request of burying her on Earth.

"Grandma…" Luna spoke. She ran her hands across her long raven hair. "It's…Valentine's Day. You told me that it used to be a time of love. Romantic love, but I don't know much about that. The only thing that I know is the care you gave me. You're the only one that I love, so…Happy Valentine's Day. I guess."

Turning around, Luna looked to the sight of the survivors of the Remnant campsite. Almost everyone was asleep. Only a few guards stood ready on this empty world. Their now fuel less spaceship stood next to the camp. At the center of their tents was the bunch of scrap metal that they were attempting to use to make a time machine.

"It's supposed to be a happy day, right?" Luna sighed. "What a joke. I don't understand these old holidays."

"I didn't either for a long time."

"Woah!" Luna jumped up in shock at the new voice. Upon seeing a strange man, she shifted into her ghost form. Her hands lit up with pink energy. "You're human! Who are you?! I know every person from Remnant!"

"Remnant…Yeah. That's what it was called. Sorry. I'm not good at this yet. Hard remembering stuff with a mortal's brain, you know? You're Luna, right?"

"Hey! Don't avoid my question! Who are you?"

"A friend of your…Grandma," the man looked to the tiny grave. He eyed the name 'Danielle Masters' carved into the wood. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help. Time travel is hard enough without space travel too. Couldn't get to the moon to help."

"Time…travel?"

"Yeah. You've probably heard about me. My name is Wally West," Wally smiled at the girl. "And I'm here to help you."

* * *

 **Extra: In A Strange Land**

"So..." Starfire glanced around the crowded city streets. "Why are we here, Joel?"

Joel looked to his newest friend. She wore a heavy coat despite her indifference to the cold. Her wool hat and scarf also hid her stunning feature. The heavy clothing fortunately prevented any unwanted attention from passerbyers, "I'm going to teach you how to act normally on Earth."

"Normally?" Starfire tilted her head to the side while slowly lifting off the ground. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Joel quickly pushed her back down to Earth. "Not drawing attention. Humans are fickle. They start screaming and running at the first sign of something odd. If you're going to be traveling with my group, you need to know how to blend in when we're trying to be stealthy."

"I see. That makes the most of senses," Starfire rapidly nodded her head. "But usually you have one of the females of your group introduce me to Earthling culture."

"Yeah well, the sad thing is...I'm the most normal out of all my friends," Joel sighed. "So I'm going to teach you."

"Very well," Starfire began to jump up and down. "Let us begin the blending in!"

"Alright. First rule: If you want to blend in...don't scream out how you're trying to blend in."

(Ten minutes later...)

Starfire grinned, "These fish are most delicious!"

"Star," Joel grimace. "Those fish are for display only. We have to order food to get severed."

"Oh," Starfire looked from the half eaten fish in her hands to the tank where the still living fish swam. "Should I put it back?"

"No," Joel noticed security moving to them through the gawking crowd. "You can keep it, but I think that we should start running."

(Ten minutes later...)

"Earthlings are so clever!" Starfire giggled as she marched up the down escalator. "You put exercise equipment in the public area to promote health! Ingenius!"

"Actually, Star," Joel muttered dryly as he stood on the stationary stairs next to her. "It's the exact opposite. Those are for people too lazy to use the stairs."

"Ah, I see," Starfire nodded in understanding. "Still these are very much the fun! You should try them!"

Joel stared at her for a moment before jumping over the railing next to her, "Ah, why the hell not?"

(Ten minutes later..."

"Oh!" Starfire stared at the strange object made up of dozens of colorful bars. "I have heard of this! These are the jungle gyms, no?"

"Err, not really," Joel rubbed the back of his head while staring at the metal contraption in the middle of the walkway. "This is modern art. People are just supposed to look at it."

"Really?" Starfire carefully examined the structure. "I don't get it."

"No one does."

"So I'm fitting in?"

"Very much so."

"Excellent," Starfire smiled. "But I still want to climb on it."

Joel shrugged, "Go ahead. We already proved that we can outrun security."

(Ten minutes later...)

Starfire looked to Joel, "So how did I do?"

"By my group's standards? You get a C," Joel noted.

"Interesting. Is a C good?"

"It's about average."

"Yes! That means that I blended in very well!"

"Err, not exactly," Joel chuckled. "By normal human standards, you stuck out pretty badly. Fortunately, if you're ever around any of my friends, strangers will forget about you when they start acting strange. At least you don't randomly pull out deadly weapons, give grand speeches, or try to save a cat by punching it out of a tree."

"Who did that one?"

"My sister," Joel grimaced. "I don't know what went through her mind when we were younger. There was a ladder right beside her."

* * *

 **Geeze...I think I've gotten to the point where my own lore is getting the better of me. So. Many. Characters. What have I done? Gah, I even almost forgot to add Constantine to this chapter. Good thing I made a huge circle around his name in my notes.**

 **Recently, I looked back through the previous stories in the series. I realized that I missed the humorous extras that I used to do. In Conviction, the tone would have been thrown all over the place with pure slocky jokes considering that characters were dying in almost every chapter. With Desperation's tone being more of a boil than a kitchen fire, I thought that I could write some Extras to develop some of the new characters like I did in the first two stories. The extra was kind of last minute, so my Beta didn't check it. It was my fault, not hers. If there's horrendous errors, please tell me and I'll fix it.**

 **If you noticed, Starfire's extra had a tiny reference to Persona 3. My life was basically taken over by Persona 5, 4, and 3 last year. I was told that the series was good, but I didn't know how much I'd love it until I took the plunge. Elizabeth's dates were a big inspiration for this. I'm actually working on a Person 4 one-shot that revolves around the longevity of that one game's lifespan and the minor plot holes which could have easily been written away by using the obvious things to explain why detectives couldn't solve an obvious murder crime. And if you love Persona 4, don't take this the wrong way, but...the mystery was pretty obvious. I kind of guessed who it was by end of the first dungeon. Still a great experience, though.**

 **Pst...I don't know if you know it or not...but my Beta jaguarspot is amazing for putting up with me.**

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to...**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


	7. Ideals

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Failure comes only when we forget our ideals and objectives and principles." Jawaharlal Nehru

* * *

Chapter: 7: "Ideals"

(Friday-February 19, 2016)

Atlantis looked every bit like the fantasy city it was portrayed as in the stories. Deep at the bottom of the ocean, the sprawling architecture was lit up by magic lights spread throughout the city. Most of the citizens were human beings which had evolved to grow gills and webbed hands. Some of them were covered in scales, while other could easily pass as normal humans. Other than the natural citizens of the underwater kingdom, dozens of yeti ghosts covered in white fur moved throughout the city as guards which helped the city soldiers.

One yeti ghost stood out from the others. He was a larger beast with horns of ice. Both his arms were missing and were replaced by ice with bones on the inside. A large grin covered his friendly snout, "Plasmius! It's been too long!"

Plasmius floated up to hug his old friend, "It's good to see you as well, Frostbite. How have you been?"

"Fantastic all things considering," Frostbite released the halfa. "I've heard that things on the surface are not great, though."

Plasmius nodded, "That's part of the reason that I'm here to speak with you and Aquaman."

"I figured," Frostbite glanced around as if to look for someone else. "No Vision?"

"She didn't think that a six month pregnant woman should risk intense underwater pressure," Plasmius explained. "We have no idea if it would affect the baby, but we thought it would be better to try to be as safe as possible."

"Fair point," Frostbite nodded in understanding. "Come. I will show you to the king."

The yeti ghost led Plasmius through the halls of the Atlantian palace. While they moved, Plasmius observed the swimming soldiers. Despite most of them knowing of him, they seemed tense at having a stranger getting so close to the heart of the kingdom. He couldn't blame them. The last time outsiders were in their city, their king had been murdered.

"Your people seemed to have acclimated well," Plasmius mentioned.

"Indeed," Frostbite grinned. "It was a rough start, but the locals grew accustomed to us after all our work to fix and protect their city."

"I see," Plasmius glanced out a window. He didn't remember much during the Blackest Night. He had been ambushed during his honeymoon without his pants. The only part of the crisis that he had fought in was the final battle. When Nekron was finally vanquished, he learned of the great losses which happened during the fight. One of the worst events happened in this very city.

When they reached some large doors, they floated into a large throne room. While mostly bare, the chamber had large pillars leading up to the single chair despite the space provided suggesting that there should be two thrones. Kaldur sat on the seat while a light skinned man floated next to him. Aquaman's seemingly personal guard wore a tight blue and black swimsuit. His hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Despite their leaders being calm, the soldiers which lined the room remained tense until Kaldur waved at them to calm them down.

Plasmius knelt down in front of the throne, "Thank you for accepting my meeting request, your Majesty."

Kaldur moved up from his throne. He swum over to the halfa. Placing his hand on the elder man's shoulder, he spoke, "You need not kneel, my friend. Every member of the Phantom Family is considered an equal to me."

"I still wish to respect your customs. Best not to insult the locals," Plasmius stood up now that he had permission.

"Ever the politician," Kaldur smiled. "I see where Phantom got if from."

Plasmius chuckled, "It took a while for me to completely ingrain it into him. You remember what he was like when he was fifteen."

Kaldur's lips twitched, "Five years ago. It seems like a lifetime."

"That it does," Plasmius nodded. "Would it be too rude to ask for a private meeting?"

"Not at all," Kaldur waved at his soldiers to leave. "I ask that Garth remains. He is my most trusted advisor. There is nothing that happens within Atlantis that is secret to him."

"Of course," Plasmius smiled to Garth. "It's good to see you as well, Tempest."

"I am glad to see you in good health, Plasmius," Tempest watched as the soldiers closed the doors behind them. "Now what do you want?"

"It's about the aliens."

"Yes," Kaldur sighed. "That has been a mess for us as well. We might very well be the last to know if a full invasion occurred. It is especially strenuous with my extra duties to the League, but I do not think that you are here for League matters, are you?"

"No," Plasmius shook his head. "I need the king of Atlantis, not the hero of the Justice League."

Kaldur's facial expression grew hard, "Then speak, and I will listen."

Plasmius did just that. He went over every detail which happened since the turn of the New Year and their plans of how to deal with it, "…we need an unexpected force. The Light has proven that they won't be beaten by conventional means. We have to use every trick possible if we wish to save the Earth from whatever they're planning."

"And you want full access to my country for that?" Kaldur was frowning.

"You are completely isolated. What happens here will be secret from even them," Plasmius explained. "Plus, we will need Frostbite's people to build a proper fighting force."

"You are asking a lot from me," Kaldur stated. "I will be risking my position as a member of the League to build a fighting force without their knowledge. Not to mention the danger it would put my people in."

"Perhaps, but there's so much more to lose," Plasmius argued. "My wife will have our child soon. I want to create a world where they will both be safe. Aren't you tired of losing people by playing by the rules? Haven't you thought about how much better things could be?"

Aquaman shared a look with Tempest. They both nodded, "Let me show you something before I make any decision."

"What do you want to show me?"

"The consequences of everything that Atlantis has lost."

* * *

Spirit sat in the Bioship. The interior of the Martian space ship was wide in order to be able to carry dozens of people. Despite the girth of the interior, the halfa was only accompanied by three other people. Bumblebee and Wonder Girl sat on either side of her. Miss Martian was at the core of the ship in order to navigate the vessel.

" _Investigating the origin of the alien bomb that destroyed the Krolotean invasion force is still a high priority_ ," Nightwing's image appeared on the front screen of the ship. " _We suspect the bomb may have been smuggled to Earth via boom tube. Watchtower sensor scans in Bialya have recorded an uptick in boom tube activity. Alpha squad, your mission is—_ "

Wonder Girl interrupted him, "Sneak behind enemy lines, recon known boom tube hotspots, and find alien tech matching the bomb. Oh, and don't get caught or create an international incident. Right?"

Nightwing smiled, " _That about covers it_."

M'gann frowned, "Psimon?"

An image of the pale telepath with his massive brain exposed inside his clear head popped up on the front of the window, " _We have confirmation that Bialya's telepathic enforcer's still catatonic in a Quraci hospital. After his last encounter with you. But Bialya's dictator, Queen Bee, is another story. Her ability to control the minds of men is why Alpha is an all-female squad for this mission."_

" _Would you need to justify an all-male squad?"_ Oracle's voice sounded from beside Nightwing.

Nightwing's eyes were wide, " _I…erm…"_

Spirit decided to have pity on the poor man, "Hey, don't put the blame on him. I know for a fact that this was your idea, Oracle."

" _Oh. Why did you have to ruin my fun?_ " Oracle giggled.

"I'd rather not create an environment where the guys pussyfoot around talking to us," Spirit noted.

" _And on that note, I'm out. Good luck,"_ Nightwing cut the connection before anything could be blamed on him. The girls in the Bioship giggled as they finished their trip. Eventually, they made their way into the Bialyan desert. After searching a few compounds, they spotted a much busier hideout. Hidden behind one of the hundreds of dunes, they spied on a large hanger compound filled with armed men. The light of the moon glowed down upon everything to give it an eerie glow.

Spirit spied on the enemy from a distance. She spoke to the others using their mental connection, 'This place is buzzing. If anything involving boom tubes is in this stupid desert, it would be here.'

Miss Martian hardened her features, 'Our job is to find out. Spirit, take the north hangar. I'll take the south. Bee, the middle. Wonder Girl, hold position.'

Wonder Girl's expression fell, 'What? Wait, why can't I go in?'

'Cause you're Wonder Girl, honey,' Bumblebee noted. 'Not Stealth-err Girl.'

Wonder Girl flinched, 'I can do this.'

'This isn't a fist fight, Cass,' Spirit shook her head in annoyance. 'This is recon. One slip up, and this place goes on high alert. Stay on lookout.'

'Why won't you ever give me a chance?' Wonder Girl pleaded. 'How can I prove myself if you won't let me try?'

'This is not the time to act like a little girl,' Spirit hissed. 'One stray bullet, and someone is dead. I will not watch another of my friends die because you got over enthusiastic.'

'Geeze, girl,' Bumblebee glared at the ghost. 'She's just trying to help.'

'And so am I,' Spirit clenched her fist.

'It's okay,' Wonder Girl was looking down. Her voice was filled with the pain at being rejected by her hero. 'I'll keep watch.'

Miss Martian's face remained impassive, 'Keep radios silent. Use psychic link only. The Bialyans have the tech to intercept our radios. Anything goes wrong, we scatter and meet at the rendezvous point. Clear?'

'Clear!'

With the mission settled, Spirit turned invisible and rushed to her hanger. Taking a glance back, she saw Wonder Girl hugging her knees to her chest. Regret surged through Spirit, but she quickly buried it away like everything else she felt. Even if Cassandra grew to hate her, the daughter of Zeus would still be alive. That's what was most important.

Shaking her head, Spirit rushed to her target. As she flew, she never noticed the disembodied crimson eyes staring. A low mad giggle lightly sounded over the desert sand before the orbs disappeared with a blink.

* * *

Dusk held binoculars over his eyes to examine the large hanger compound carved into the side of a cliff. Hundreds of armed Bilayan soldiers were spread out across the sandy landscape. Each of the men were completely covered in their dark uniforms. From his spot, he spotted a few meta-humans guarding the building as well. The stolen Red X armor was speaking with a large, buff woman with dreadlocks and thorn tattoos covering her left side.

"If he's anywhere, it would definitely be here," Dusk lowered his spy glasses. "This place is protected like Fort Knox. The Light definitely has some heavy investments in there."

Starfire tilted her head to the side, "What is this…Fort Knot?"

"Knox," Gear spoke automatically without thinking. "It is a saying originating over a heavily protected military base in the state of Kentucky."

"Kentucky?" Starfire blinked.

Black Bat flicked the alien upside the head, "No time to explain what the southern states are. We're on a mission."

"Yes, we are," Ravager giggled. "And it's a stealth one too. I'm so excited."

Red Hood grunted. He swung his sniper rifle over his shoulder, "You're not the one stuck outside."

"I think that it would be best to avoid having the most heavily armed one of us under Queen Bee's control," Herald noted. He closed the portal behind them with a wave of his hand.

"This Queen Bee can control people, correct?" Starfire questioned.

"Most men and some women," Dusk explained. "It's based completely on attraction."

"And boy, is she attractive," Red Hood purred. "Ow!"

Troia moved her hand back from pinching him, "How sweet of thee, love. Talking about how good looking another woman is in front of me."

"To be fair, she is a bombshell," Black Bat noted. "Wars were fought over women half as beautiful."

All eyes turned to her. Starfire was the one to speak, "How many women can the Bee seduce?"

"No idea," Dusk rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, before we head in…Is there anything you girls want to share? I mean…I'd rather not have to fight any of you."

"Don't look at me," Troia huffed. "Despite what thou might think, the Amazons are not an island of secret lesbians. Almost all of them are attracted to men exclusively. I actually have a working theory that the lack of proper sexual release is the reason that they are so aggressive. It would explain why my temper hasn't been as bad since my return to Man's World."

"Woah. That is more than I needed to know," Ravager snorted. "Well, I'll be fine unless she suddenly starts slaughtering people and bathing in their blood."

Everyone responded to that statement by stepping away from the white haired girl. Starfire leaned next to Dusk, "You were not kidding when you said that I would look normal compared to them."

Dusk nodded, "So I assume that you'll be good?"

Starfire blushed up realizing how close she was to him, "Y-Yes. I will be fine."

"And I'm good too," Black Bat placed her fists on her hips. "What about you?"

"I'm a ghost with training from the Shadows," Dusk mentioned. "I think that I'll be fine. And Gear's integration with his tech and helmet should keep him safe too."

Gear shifted uncomfortably, "Right. Yeah."

"So we're the only ones stuck outside," Red Hood side. "First bit of real action since I came back, and I'm sidelined."

Herald placed a hand on Jason's shoulder, "We will be here if you need to make a quick escape."

"Divide up into your teams," Dusk ordered. "Follow your stealth expert closely, and try to hunt down the captives. If the info is right, then there should be a lot of hostages, not just Virgil. Normally, I would order radio silence, but Backpack's signal jams will keep our message from getting intercepted. When you find our targets, radio in. Then we can meet back here to plan out the rescue."

Nodding, the three groups of duos moved out. While Troia moved with Ravager and Gear used a camouflage armor to keep up with Black Bat, Dusk took Starfire's hand to turn her invisible with him. Now hidden, they flew towards the base. They easily slipped into the compound. Despite their best attempts, though, Dusk was noticed by a young woman who looked a lot like him.

* * *

Kaldur floated next to a bed in a massage bedroom. All the furniture, decorations, and pictures were of obvious high quality. None of it appeared to have been used in years. A beautiful woman with crimson hair lie on the bed. She was unhealthily thin. Her soulless blue eyes stared up to the ceiling uncaringly.

Sighing, the second Aquaman called out to the woman, "Queen Mera. You have a visitor."

Mera did not respond.

"He is from the surface," Kaldur noted. "Perhaps you would want to greet him."

Mera remained still.

Shaking his head, Kaldur turned to Plasmius, "She was once my teacher, you know? The greatest sorceress Atlantis has ever known, and she has fallen to this."

Plasmius moved next to the woman to examine her, "Why won't she respond?"

"She's lost the will to live," Frostbite noted from the entrance. "We've tried to bring her out of it by using every means that we had available to us, but she won't respond to anything. Even telepaths can't help her. You can't fix someone who doesn't want to be fixed."

Tempest looked down in frustration, "Losing King Orin was what broke her. She was already at the edge after her son was…Well as you can see, she has yet to get better even after years have passed."

Plasmius swallowed roughly as he imagined Vision in a similar position, "This is exactly what I want to keep from happening again. I have my own wife and children to protect. I refuse to let anything close to this happen to them. That's why I need to take the initiative."

Kaldur stared at Plasmius, "Garth. Frostbite. Please give us a few moments."

While obviously surprised at being dismissed, the duo nodded and obeyed. When they were gone, Plasmius spoke again, "I thought there wasn't anything that happened in this city that Garth didn't know about."

"Nothing is happening. I have yet to decide about what to do," Kaldur moved to a chair by the bed. He collapsed into the seat in exhaustion. The young man finally showed the great burden which had weighed down on him for so long. "Right now, I just wish to talk to someone as a person instead of as a representation of all of Atlantis."

Plasmius eyed the new adult in pity, "I'm sorry that I have to place even more trouble on you."

"You are trying to do what is best for your family," Kaldur rubbed his temples. "I respect that, but you have to understand my position. I am a first generation of a new line of rules. Even if the queen could function again, I doubt that she would be able to retake her place. Plus, there is the problem of an heir. How cruel would it be to make her remarry and conceive after what she has experienced?"

"So you are stuck in this position," Plasmius noted. "Why not get rid of the concept of royalty all together? Transition into a democracy."

"One of King Orin's last acts was to make me king," Kaldur muttered. "If I were to spit upon that by trying to change the system now, there will be unrest. Perhaps in a few generations, it would be possible. Right now, Atlantis is not ready."

"I see," Plasmius nodded in understanding. "Are you being pressured about the heir issue?"

"Yes," Kaldur's face twisted with despair. "Even though I am young, the Black Hand's attack on us remains in the mind of the populace. They wish for things to return to as normal as possible. Starting the new line is a key to stabilizing the country."

"Personally, I find the role of husband and father to be fulfilling," Plasmius mentioned.

"I have no doubt that they are, but I have only ever had eyes for one woman. A woman which has long since rejected me for my best friend," Kaldur took a shuddered breath. "A woman who is long since dead."

Plasmius turned to glance at the door, "I see. No wonder you didn't want Tempest to hear this."

Kaldur gave a humorless chuckle, "Some friend I am huh? He lost the love of his life, yet I still pin for her."

"We do not get to control who we fall in love with. You never knew me before I met Vision, but I spent most of my life in love with another man's wife," Plasmius took a deep breath. "It was only after they both died was I able to move on and find the woman that I was truly meant to be with."

Kaldur frowned, "So you think that something similar will happen to me?"

"Perhaps. I don't know. All I know is that dwelling over what can never be isn't even healthy for a ghost," Plasmius suggested. "In my experience, if we truly try to improve ourselves and help people, things generally work out."

"In some ways maybe," Kaldur placed his hands onto his face. "But realize that I never wanted this kind of position. There was a reason that I let Danny lead Young Justice without complaint. I was always fine as the second-in-command. Yet here I am. King of Atlantis and one of the League's defacto top three with the founders out in space."

"You might not like it, but it seems like you were born to lead," Plasmius stated. "You've handled this situation extremely well. Not letting your followers see you in such a moment of weakness was a good call."

Kaldur groaned, "Perhaps, but I am so tired. Things keep getting harder. Black Manta…my father…has joined the Light."

"Then make them easier," Plasmius suggested. "Work with me to fight off the Light. That will lessen your weight as a superhero and show your people that you are competent enough to deal with any threat. That might lessen their anxiety and give you time to find a woman who can truly help you."

Kaldur burst out laughing, "Ever the politician! You would make a terrifying enemy."

Plasmius grinned, "And an amazing ally."

"Fair point," Aquaman extended a hand. "I am convinced. Let us save the world."

Plasmius shook the hand, "And this time, there will be no casualties."

* * *

She didn't know what was happening. One moment, the halfa was sneaking through the hanger. Then in an instant, she was teleported back into the desert. A light wind rushed the sand below her. Before she could begin to fathom what was happening, the weight of life and death seemed to crash down on her.

Spirit felt warm nervous sweat roll down her body. Her Premonition was screaming at her from dozens of intentions intentions all at once. She had never experienced such a strange mix of intentions from a voice that were all so similar. While her mental power was being assaulted, her body was trapped by different knives pointing at her all across her body and a long thorned whip that was wrapped around her.

"Why hello there~"

A mature adult woman's body draped itself across Spirit's back, ignoring the blades and whips. Spirit felt a lump grow in her throat as hot breath hit her ear. The intentions dancing off the woman behind her were too wild to understand.

"How rude…You're supposed to say hello back, sweetie~"

Spirit flinched as manicured hands began to grope her body. A wet tongue moved across her jaw and left a trail of saliva in its wake.

"How rude, but I'll forgive you," Thorn worked her way around to make eye contact with Spirit, "After all…you are the woman my son loved enough to give his life up for, right?"

"Kitty," Spirit gasped.

"No!" Thorn grabbed her by her cheeks. "Kitty is gone! There is only me now, dear."

Spirit took a deep breath, "Thorn."

"Yes~" Thorn floated around the other ghost before backing up to show her scandalous appearance. Her crimson mane flowed around her like a river of blood. While Kitty had worn flattering clothing, Thorn chose an attire which revealed almost every inch of her pale, flawless skin. Only a thin, green bikini top held back the swell of her chest. The tightest miniskirt that Spirit had ever seen covered her bottom. The seductress would catch the eye of even those which were not attracted to the fairer sex. "I'm so glad that you know who I am, sweetheart! That makes this so much easier!"

"Do…Do you want to kill me?" Spirit questioned. "I know that Youngblood died because of me. I wouldn't blame you…"

"Oh, poor dear, why would I want to kill you?" with a wave of her hand, Thorn dismissed the ectoplasmic weapons holding the younger woman in place. "You're practically my daughter-in-law!"

Spirit collapsed to the ground, "W-What? But I thought you'd hate me from taking him from you."

"Silly Billy, it's only natural for the son to grow up and fall in love," Thorn giggled. "I must admit that I was a tinsy bit upset at first, but how could I forsake my child's feelings? He loved you in the most genuine way possible. Just think about it. The sensual ways of the flesh were lost to him because of his seal on Jonathan and me. There was no corruption of lust in his devotion to you. Although, I must admit…"

Thorn reached out to tilt Spirit's head up with a finger on her chin. Spirit's beauty was only emphasized by the moon shining its blessing down upon her. The mad ghost's crimson eyes shined with want, "He had amazing tastes. An untouchable beauty. Your strength is only topped by your burning willpower. Everything about you screams attractive, yet you hide the skin that our other halves desperately want to see. You must leave men melting in puddles of desire, and you're not even fully grown yet!"

"Untouchable, huh?" Spirit looked down. Part of her fake ankle was exposed.

Thorn snorted, "Many men would be into that. Unless they're super into feet."

"I really don't want to be hearing about people's fetishes," Spirit smacked the finger away before standing up on her own.

"Why? They're as natural as the food we eat?" Thorn noted. "Tell me, what do you and your tin man do which make your toes curl? Is that part of him enhanced too? Does it vibrate?"

"Shut up!" Spirit's face was flushed in embarrassment. "What we do is no one's business!"

"True," Thorn licked her fingers. "But you must admit, my precious little one, people must be curious."

"That doesn't matter."

"Perhaps," Thorn floated sideways as if she was sensually lying on a bed. "You know, I never expected you to be so cold. Charles' diaries described you as a sun which pushed away the darkness. Yet you push away your lovely mother-in-law. Not to mention how you treated your blonde friend. The poor girl oh so desperately wants you to acknowledge her."

"Wonder Girl is…" Spirit looked away in shame.

"I get it," understanding laced Thorn's voice. "You're trying to make her understand. This world is messed up, and letting your passion get the better of you often leads to long lasting consequences. After all, most children are made out of that passion. You know. After several glorious minutes of—"

"I told you to stop," Spirit hissed. Her emotions rushed out in the form of her Haunting Aura. Most people cowered before an S-ranked ghost's raw emotions. Thorn just rolled her eyes. "I know what you're trying to do. You're using sexual talk to make me uncomfortable and throw me off my game."

"Of course. It's a power that women have seemed to forget," Thorn smiled. "Do you know what it's like for men? There's a reason they're compared to dogs. Their sex drive is just like the canine's own desire for flesh. Yet women squander control over this. Look at what I did to you. Look at what Queen Bee does to an entire country. Power over sex is absolute. If a woman controls her sexuality to the fullest, then she controls everyone around her."

Spirit huffed, "Whatever."

"Oh dear, you're not willing to listen yet," Thorn shook her head. "And here I thought that we could bond. I see so much potential in you. My precious daughter, you could control this whole world. You've been gifted with everything. Power. Beauty. Sex appeal. Charisma. Respect. Influence. Just reach out and grasp what is in front of you. Imagine it. You at the top of the world, no! The universe! You make the rules! You decide what morality is! You get to keep everyone safe! No one you care about will die under your careful watch!"

Those words finally got to her. Spirit froze. Desire bubbled in her stomach.

Thorn smiled in glee, "Oh, my lovely! You see it don't you! Isn't it beautiful! Doesn't it just get your insides burning! A universe full of peace. Where children don't have to suffer because of their parents. Where the people we love don't die. Where everything is the way we want it to be. Isn't it the most wonderful thing that you can imagine?!"

"No," Spirit whispered. "That's wrong."

"How? How is making a utopia wrong? Sure, a few hundred…thousand…million people might have to die, but wouldn't it be worth it for eternal peace afterwards?" Thorn moved in for a gentle hug. "My precious daughter. The only woman who could have ever stolen my beloved son's heart. Don't you want to make the universe a place where Charles didn't have to suffer? Where you don't have to watch people die?"

"That…does sound nice…"

"Of course it does, sweetie," Thorn purred. "Let's start your training to build that world. I won't ask you to make someone kiss your feet…yet. Instead, start with something simple. You've crushed Wonder Girl's spirit. That's good. She needed to know her place, but you can't let her grow to hate you. One day, she would strike back at you. Instead, go to her with the sweetest words imaginable. Apologize. Praise her. Compare her to yourself. Make her adore and crave your affection. She'll be under your thumb in an instant. Everything she does from now on will be for your judgment. There will be no decision she does not come to you for advice for."

An alarm behind them made Spirit jump. She whipped her head around to look back where the hangers were, "My team!"

"Go," Thorn released the halfa. "Try my advice. It will work. Don't worry, my precious thing. I'll contact you again."

* * *

Dusk paused in his flight. After several minutes of searching the compound, he had followed a strange ringing noise to find a lone woman sitting on the floor in an empty room. He floated behind her for a few seconds before moving to get in front of her. Once he was on the ground, he turned visible with Starfire. Said alien looked to him in alarm, "What are you doing? I thought we were supposed to stay unseen."

"She already knew that we were here," Dusk argued. "How did you know that I would be here, Nyssa?"

The woman on the floor opened her eyes to show her piercing blue orbs. She was extremely beautiful with nearly flawless skin. Her dark hair was cut short. Long, pointed earrings hung from her ear lobes. Her black coat had thick, metal shoulder pads. A purple top stopped just below her stomach to show off her defined midsection, "I studied your moving patterns. You tend to step in more when the situation involves human trafficking, brother. If there was any compound controlled by the Light that you would infiltrate, it would be this one."

"Brother?" Starfire blinked. "Is this the sister which tried to punch the cat down the tree?"

"No. That was Spirit. We're technically not birth siblings. Nyssa is at least related by blood. Well, half at least," Dusk noted. "My birth father really gets around."

"That's an understatement. Father is a horn dog," Nyssa stood from her seated position on the ground. She eyed how Dusk was holding Starfire's hand. "It seems to have been passed on. Is that the alien you went out of your way to save?"

Dusk hurriedly pulled his hand away, "Yes, and you know that it's not like that."

Nyssa giggled, "Of course. You're just so fun to tease, little Joel."

"I do not understand," Starfire spoke up again. "I thought that you were estranged from your birth family."

"I am, but Nyssa's never picked a fight. She wants my help to take down Ra's," Dusk explained. "This isn't the first time that she tracked me down. Sorry, Nyssa, but I'm in the middle of something. Are you here to stop me?"

Nyssa snorted, "Why would I do that? I have no desire to support Father's strange decision to capture innocent civilians. Children who have done nothing besides try to flee from terrible situations. It's sickening."

"Then I shall be going," Dusk stated.

"Don't worry," Nyssa examined her fingernails. "Your teammates and the hostages will be fine for a few minutes. Especially with Young Justice here to help."

Dusk's eyebrows shot up, "Young Justice is here?"

"Indeed," Nyssa smirked. "And the sister that you actually acknowledge is here as well."

"Oh," Starfire smiled. "I would like to meet her."

"Don't let your guard down," Dusk frowned. "We're in enemy territory. Why tell us this? Why not sound the alarm."

"Despite the fact that I work for Father, I do not support him or the Light," Nyssa cracked her knuckles. "The League of Shadows used to be noble. We only killed tyrants, abusers, and the worst scum imaginable. There used to be a code. Now, it's just whatever Father feels like doing. I want to reform the Light, but to do that, I need you to take Father's place."

"Why not do it yourself?" Dusk questioned.

"While Father's ideas about gender roles are a bit outdated, I know that neither Talia nor I could fill his role. We lack the combat strength or sense of conviction to be the Demon's Head," Nyssa sighed. "Talia delights in shifting into a submissive bunny before the powerful men in her life, and I lack the combat prowess to prevent a coup from the top assassins. We would be taken down too quickly. You, though, would make people cower before you."

"I have no interest in killing people," Dusk argued.

"You don't need to. You don't even need to order people's death," Nyssa explained. "All I need from you is to be a figurehead. Be the unbreakable idol of the Shadows, and everything can be fixed. The Shadows can be redeemed."

"Joel," Starfire whispered. "I don't know much about your world, but I do understand lineage and undertaking responsibility. From what I've heard, this is your birthright. Why not take the offer and deal with a formidable foe?"

"You don't understand," Dusk hissed. "My mom sacrificed everything to keep me from that life. To give me a choice. To keep me from being a killer. Even if I was just some figurehead, I would be responsible for the lives taken by those under me."

"Then reform the Shadows how you see it," Starfire encouraged. "No more killing unless completely necessary. It would be difficult, but I think that you could do it."

"Listen to your paramour, brother," Nyssa held out her hand. "She's smart. We might differ in ideals, but I'd be willing to compromise. It would be better than dealing with Father's corrupted mind and soul."

"I…" Dusk looked away. "I don't know if I can do it. I've seen what I'm like when I get the bloodlust. If I kill Ra's, then I could lose control. It's in my genes to murder."

"Very well," Nyssa shrugged. "I've made more progress today than I expected anyway. Alien, keep trying to convince him. It will make my work easier. Before I let you go, though, think on this. If you don't take Ra's place, you will be condemning you nephew to become just like him."

"Nephew?" Dusk eyed her exposed midriff to see no swelling or stretch marks. "You had a child?"

"No," Nyssa smiled. "Talia did."

"Who's the—" Dusk paused when alarms went off through the compound. He and Star looked away for only a moment. When they looked back to Nyssa, they found that the woman had disappeared.

* * *

Plasmius shook Aquaman's hand one final time, "Thank you again. I'll make sure to keep you up to date on our plan."

"Thank you," after releasing the shake, Kaldur took a communication devise from the halfa. "Stay safe on your journey home."

Nodding, Plasmius waved and flew through the water to head back to his home. Unfortunately, he could not use the Zeta Tubes without alerting the League, so he had to take the long journey home physically. As the ghost left the city, the king spoke to his most trusted confidants, "Do you think that I made the right decision?"

Garth shrugged, "There is no way to tell. It was a difficult choice. As a warrior, I support the idea of Atlantis taking the initiative instead of simply waiting. At the same time, this is a great risk. If we fail, then our entire city will be shamed. War might even be started with the surface world."

Kaldur scowled at the through. Frostbite tried to calm him by placing a calming hand on his shoulder, "Do not worry. Vlad and Vision are at the front of this. They are investing everything in this as well. Their record in these events speaks for itself."

"True," Kaldur nodded. "And the only other option would be continuing to try to defeat the Light with the same methods. Now is the time for risks."

Garth hummed, "It did make me feel better that Plasmius already brought Danny into the plan."

"Indeed," Frostbite grinned. "It will be good to work the Great One again. He has yet to fail me."

Kaldur felt somewhat more relieved, "You are right. Atlantis will be in good hands if he's handling our defenses."

* * *

Dusk landed with Starfire in a hidden underground bunker which reminded him of temples from Hollywood movies. All the soldiers were knocked out at the numerous computer consoles. A large plane pointed to the secret exit in the Cliffside. Gear stood at one of the consoles typing while the ladies were working on moving what appeared to be kidnapped teenagers.

"This isn't very subtle, Gear," Dusk moved next to the technopath.

"Sorry," Gear did not look away from the screen. "They were getting ready to move the prisoners. We didn't have time to rendezvous. I sent the message over the radio, but you didn't answer. After hacking into their radio system, I sent the reinforcements to the north. Red Hood should have set up explosives which will buy us time."

Dusk sighed, "Fine. Nothing we can do about it now. Let's get out of here quickly."

"Sorry, but Psimon cannot let you do that."

Everyone in Dusk's group gasped as their minds were assaulted. They all collapsed to the ground in pain. Only Dusk managed to keep himself up on his knees. Clutching at his aching head, he eyed Psimon and Red X leading a group of supervillains. Next to Devastation was a red haired man name Mammoth. His muscles were unbelievably large and covered in a natural armor. They were also joined by a thinner young man covered in ice. Behind Icicle Jr. was Shimmer. The red haired, tattoo covered woman with half her head shaved was the only powerless person in the group.

"Gah," Dusk couldn't force himself to his feet.

"Interesting," Red X leaned in close to Dusk. "This is the group from Tokyo."

Devastation glared at the downed Troia, "Plus one. When did the little girl get back from the island?"

"Why not ask?" Psimon suggested. "Psimon cannot read the inner thoughts of a ghost, but he can keep them at bay."

"That's good enough for me," Red X pulled out an ecto-pistol and pressed it against Dusk's forehead. "Why are you here, Dusk?"

Dusk hissed, "Like I'd tell you."

"Oh, I think that you will," Red X moved the gun to Starfire's head.

"Okay!" Dusk grunted. "Just leave my friends alone. We were tracking some missing kids. Some of them seemed to just be runaways, but others were happy with their family lives, so we thought something was up."

Psimon frowned, "We should tell the others to be more careful about who they pick up."

"Don't worry so much," Red X giggled. "This is a great haul. Ra's heir. An alien princess. An Amazon. A technopath. And two traitors. What more could we ask for?"

"What about me?"

Spirit suddenly appeared at the center of the villains by fazing through the floor. She immediately unleashed a blast of ectoplasm which sent the enemy flying. As Psimon's concentration was ruined, the members of Dusk's group recovered. Now that they had the advantage, Spirit yelled out to her teammates, "Now!"

The remaining members of Alphas rushed in from different directions. Miss Martian immediately moved to deal with Psimon. Bumblebee flew over to help up Black Bat and Ravager. Wonder Girl decided to pick a fight with Devastation. While that happened, Spirit pulled Dusk up, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving kidnapped kids," Dusk pointed to the pods. "You?"

"Recon on weapons being sent through boom tubes," Spirit noted. "We were supposed to avoid an international incident, but I think that using the kids as leverage will keep Queen Bee quiet."

"Then we can—" Dusk paused in his sentence to unsheathe Soul Shredder. He immediately batted away ecto blasts from Red X's guns.

Spirit's rage filled eyes turned to Red X, "That armor doesn't belong to you, thief."

"Does now," Red X sheathed her guns. The x's on the back of her gloves jumped out to make spinning blades.

"Catch up later?" Dusk questioned.

Spirit activated her Spectral Claws, "Of course."

Before the duo of ghosts could move in to attack Red X, Mammoth came rushing in behind them. Right before the giant could crush them, Starfire rammed into him. The alien easily knocked the enforcer away before chasing after him while screaming a battle cry. She unleashed several star bolts at him which exploded uselessly against his armored chest. Growling, Mammoth recovered to punch Starfire back as well to continue the clash of super strength.

While the two powerhouses traded blows which would shatter concrete, Gear recovered enough to throw a steel ball at Shimmer. The orb exploded into metal strands upon impact with the redhead girl. With her limbs subdued, Shimmer tumbled to the floor. Having dealt with the least significant threat, Gear began to stumble to the airplane.

He stepped by Devastation. While the more experienced and powerful woman could handle Wonder Girl on her own, she had no chance against two young women empowered by the Greek gods. Troia helped her successor beat down the infamous foe of Wonder Woman. Despite never having met, their training under the same Leaguer shined through. Troia smiled as she punched Devastation back, "Thou art pretty good!"

"Really?" Wonder Girl caught her enemy with her lasso so that she could slam the woman into the wall. "Thanks! I heard a lot of nice things about you!"

"All lies, I assure thee!" Troia moved into to keep Devastation down.

The remaining two fights were far more subdued. Bumblebee had Icicle Jr. jumping around wildly as she stung him. Psimon and Miss Martian's mental struggle was completely still. It was only the strenuous sweat rolling down the man's face which showed who was winning the telepathic fight. Clear from any fights of their own, the remaining members of the two groups finished helping the captives into the airplane.

"We're ready!" Black Bat called out to everyone.

"One second!" Dusk held Soul Shredder to Red X's throat. The combination of two halfas was far too much for even the ghost hunting suit. After only a few minutes, they had subdued the thief while obtaining only a few scratches. "Let us get the suit back! I know the owner will want that returned to him!"

"Oh. So sorry, but I can't let you do that~" Thorn's voice called out throughout the temple. Both Spirit and Dusk were forced to jump back as dozens of knives stabbed where they just standing. The seductress appeared next to Red X and helped the mercenary up. "You okay, big red?"

"I'm fine," Red X grunted. "Two on one is a bit much."

"That's why I'm here," Thorn summed her spiked whip. "Would you two be willing to scream for me?"

"Time to go," Spirit noted.

Dusk nodded. He pulled out his radio, "You ready, Herald?"

" _Ready. Opening portal_."

The blow of a horn created a large portal in front of the plane. Everyone rushed to the vessel. Those with super strength pushed the airplane through the portal to disappear away from the temple. While the other villains tried to stop them, Thorn just watched with a smile, "Perhaps, next time, we should bring more members of the Suicide Squad to help."

* * *

" _Well, it seemed like conflict was unavoidable at that point,_ " Oracle's holographic image sighed. " _Luckily, I doubt that there will be any complaints considering that it would bring Queen Bee's human trafficking to light._ "

Nightwing nodded next to her, " _The civilians' safety is a top priority. Good job._ "

"Not a good enough job!" Gear protested. "Virgil wasn't in any of the pods, but I was sure that he was in the trafficking ring. My calculations should not be wrong. He's still in their hands."

Spirit clutched at the communication devise in her hands, "I'm sorry, but we can't go back. That place is a boom tube hot spot. That cave is probably swarming with meta-humans at this point. We wouldn't be able to sneak around or fight properly."

"So I should just abandon him?" Gear hissed.

Dusk calmed him by placing a hand on his shoulder, "We'll track him down. I promise. We just can't do it today. If we try, we'll get killed or captured ourselves."

The technopath grumbled unhappily but nodded in understanding. He turned to stop away to his group of allies in another section of the desert. Herald had transported them to a place in Bialya where no one would interrupt them. In the middle of the vast wasteland, the two groups discussed their info on the situation. Red Hood and Ravager were waiting with the now seething Gear because their ride was busy arguing with his significant other. The remaining heroes were gathered for the meeting.

"I understand how he feels," Starfire noted. "It must be terrible to know that you were either just too later or that he jumped the sword."

"Jumped the gun," Dusk corrected.

"Nothing we can do now. We'll look into it to try to find other abductees later," Miss Martian frowned. "It would help if you shared info, though."

Dusk shrugged, "Talk to Gear. He's the info guy. This trafficking stuff really gets to him. He's been tracking it for a while."

" _Maybe we could help?_ " Nightwing suggested. " _You know that you have an open invitation to return. All three of you."_

"Not interested," Black Bat crossed her arms. "I still have stuff to do."

"I'm sorry, but I must refuse as well," Troia noted more respectfully. "Maybe one day, but I have the desire to…investigate Man's World outside of the League's influence for a while. But I would like to visit with thee, Cassie. I would like to see what my sister's newest protégée can do."

While Wonder Girl smiled, Dusk shook his head, "Sorry, but I need to be on my own for a bit longer."

"On your own?" Spirit snorted. "You have a bigger group than I do right now."

The younger halfa shifted uncomfortably, "I just…need more distance."

"What about you…Starfire?" Miss Martian smiled at the other alien. "I know how strange it can be in the new world. I might be able to help."

"Thank you, but no," Starfire glanced back to her group. "I like where I am right now. With my friends."

" _Well, then I guess that we'll have to go in separate ways for now,"_ Oracle mentioned. " _Try to stay in touch, Dusk. The world's going nuts right now. Even if we're not always together, we can help each other._ "

Dusk smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."

With their last goodbyes, Spirit disconnected the transmission to the Cave. The older members of the Team shared hugs before their departure. Off in the distance, Red Hood eyed his old friends wistfully but decided against approaching them. When Spirit gave one last hug to Dusk, she whispered in his ear, "Get in contact with Dad more often. He's working in the background. Maybe he can help with Virgil."

Nodding, he pulled back, "I should probably visit home some time anyway. I haven't seen the family in forever. It's just that…I still need to find whatever it is I'm looking for, and they would definitely try to convince me to stay."

"I know the feeling," Spirit nodded. "Love you, Joel."

"Love you too, Dani," Dusk glanced to Herald and Bumblebee arguing. "So much in fact that I'll deal with that for you."

Spirit giggled, "Thanks."

As he approached the couple, Dusk began to hear their conversation. Bumblebee stomped her foot angrily, "Look, I get that you have friends outside our group, but couldn't you tell me if you were going on a dangerous mission like this? At least in Tokyo, you weren't planning to get shot at. What if you get hurt and I didn't know?"

"I tried to tell you yesterday," Herald noted. "You were busy working."

"What about the day before?" Bumblebee questioned. "I was free then."

"I was in the middle of deep meditation helping guide lost souls in the life force," Herald explained.

Bumblebee sighed, "I don't even know what that means."

"Now you know how I feel when you talk about your work with the Atom," Herald interjected.

"I…fine. Whatever," Bumblebee noticed that the others were waiting for them. "Call me when you get back. We really need to work on our communication. I get tired of this."

"I do too. I'm sorry, babe," Mal rubbed the back of his neck. "Love you."

Karin strained a smile, "Love you too. Call me. Seriously."

When Bumblebee stepped away, Dusk addressed Herald, "You okay?"

Herald watched the love of his life leave his side once again, "The flow of the universe can be cruel. Keeping me away from the thing I care about most in order to bring about the best case scenario. I wish that I could see how this all ends."

Dusk turned to examine the various individuals in both groups. He noticed all the pain which they all felt do to circumstances that they couldn't control, "I know the feeling."

* * *

Spirit took a deep breath as she stepped into the cargo hold of the Bioship. Miss Martian was busy flying the vessel, while Bumblebee had a hushed conversation with Mal. She was left on her own with her target. Wonder Girl had moved to the cargo hold to get some rest. Before the Greek demigod could slip into her slumber, the halfa moved next to her, "Can I sit?"

Cassie sat up on her cot. Blinking, she shrunk into herself a bit, "Y-Yeah. Sure."

Sitting down next to the blonde, Spirit looked to the far metal wall, "M'gann told me about what happened. That you noticed that Psimon was there and told Miss M before he could find the mental link and create a backlash. Good job."

Wonder Girl blinked, "I…I don't think that you ever complimented me before."

"I know," Spirit sighed. "Sorry about that. I've been a bit of a jerk. Not much of a hero."

"No! You do great things. You were like one of my biggest inspirations growing up," Wonder Girl noted. "I just…didn't expect you to be so harsh."

Spirit's face twisted in pain, "I know. It's not a good excuse, but you have to understand how hard this lifestyle is. The first time I saw a friend die was less than a year after my debut. His name was Klemper. No one talks about him. No one remembers him, except for my family. He was the first of many. The Ghost Writer, Solomon Grundy, Wulf, and so many more. Even…even my puppy. And then I failed to save an innocent soul…someone who could have been a friend…just a few days ago."

Wonder Girl lowered her head, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't take it out on you," Spirit sucked in a sharp breath. "You remind me so much of myself. I used to be bubbly all the time too. It just gets beaten out of you after a while. I was thinking that I was doing you a favor by speeding along the process, but that was wrong. I don't want you to change, Cass. I want to regain the part of myself that was happy."

"I can help!" Wonder Girl exclaimed.

Spirit looked to her, "Even if I hurt you?"

"That's fine!" Wonder Girl beamed. "I mean, I would probably be grouchy too if I had to go through so much."

"You're so nice," Spirit smiled. "So can we start over and be friends?"

"Of course!" Cassie moved in for a hug. "That's all I wanted to begin with!"

"Thank you. Let's be the best of friends," Spirit returned the hug. Without anyone to see it, her face twisted in a strange combination of glee and regret. Thorn's words echoed in her head. The seductress did not lie to her. "We'll keep each other safe so no one gets hurt."

* * *

Johnny 13 pushed the kickstand of his Harley Davidson out with his foot. The motorcycle sat on the still sand with the engine rapidly cooling in the desert night. Knowing that his bike would be safe on its own, Johnny stepped up a few sand dunes to see the hangers which held the chaos from hours ago. Soldiers were buzzing everywhere. Dozens of supervillains filled in any gap opened by the regular guards.

"Shadow," he whispered. His shadow from the light of the moon jumped up to form a massive blob with glowing red eyes. "Check it out."

It grunted before disappearing into the ground. Johnny crossed his arms to begin the waiting process. After a few minutes, Shadow returned. It made incoherent noises which only its owner could understand. When the explanation was done, Shadow waited for its master to react.

"She's here," Johnny clenched his fists. "Yet I can't get to her. You sure that there's too many to even sneak in to get a glimpse?"

Shadow slid its finger across its neck.

"Damn," Johnny sighed. "I finally caught up with you, Kitty, but there's always something between us."

In a rare show of compassion, Shadow reached out to pat his shoulder.

Johnny cracked a smile, "At least my shadow sticks by me. You're right. We'll get her. It's just a matter of time."

* * *

Jaime Reyes kicked a pebble in frustration as he trudged down the sidewalk to his home. His day had not gone well. He had spent every minute trying to find his friend Tye Longshadow. The Native American teen had disappeared. At first, he thought it might have been Tye's mother's stupid boyfriend that caused the problem. He knew that Maurice often…clashed with his friend. Every attempt he tried to put a stop to it just ended up in more problems for Tye. Despite being a complete bastardo, all Maurice did was pirate some DVDS. While he would get busted, he probably wouldn't get too bad of a punishment.

Now the big problem was that there were no leads on Tye, ' **Incorrect. Tye Longshadow stated that he was running away. Voice analysis and his disappearance confirms that he meant it.** '

'Right,' Jaime nodded at his scarab's assessment. 'So he's gone. Maybe he'll get in contact if he needs help…or he could end up dead in a ditch. Now I sound like mom. What do you think about getting the Team to help?'

' **I would not recommend sharing emotional weaknesses with the ghost,** ' the scarab noted. ' **Her ability to sense me is dangerous. Not to mention that body language, voice analysis, and sideways eye contact all show extreme amounts of distrust directed at us.** '

'Well, she is kind of harsh to newbies,' Jaime defended her. 'She gives Wonder Girl a hard time too.'

' **Incorrect. The ghost known as Spirit demonstrates frustration with the meta-human Wonder Girl. Her reaction to you is that of a potential enemy.** '

'Maybe she's not comfortable around—'

' **Enough. Your subconscious desire to mate with her is clouding your judgement.** '

'M-Mate?! You make me sound like a pervert.'

' **Incorrect. The 'pervert' label only applies to those who are overly obsessed with sexual intercourse. Your body's reaction to the humanoid appearing females of your Team meets all the standards of a healthy desire to procreate and continue your species.** '

'Dios mío! Would you stop?!'

' **Fine. My point is nevertheless valid. Your hero worship and attraction to her clouds your mind. Be careful around not only her, but the other ghosts. The energy they emit is cause for caution.** '

'Come on. This is Spirit we're talking about. I've seen her in the news since I was a niño. We're both on the same side.'

' **Perhaps. She would make a valuable asset, but tread carefully. I calculate that a battle between you two at full power would result in mutually assured destruction.** '

* * *

Danny threw his head back in laughter, "It's not like you to fail!"

Red X's helmet was opened to show off her scarred face, "Sorry, boss. It won't happen again."

"Don't worry about it," Danny waved her off. "Two members of the leftover Phantom Family at once? It's unreasonable to ask more from you. But Thorn, I'm shocked that you didn't kill one of them."

Thorn seductively floated through the air, "One of them caught my interest, and the other belongs to Ra's."

"Fair point," Danny waved in the guards to bring in the next round of kidnapped runaways. "Luckily, I already caught us some more product for our partner."

"Thank you, Daniel," Queen Bee glared at the disheartened people under her command. She was a stunningly beautiful woman with sun kissed skin. Her rather impressive chest was held back by her sleeveless dress. A golden crown pushed her dark hair back to keep it away from your face. "If not for you, then our credibility would be up in question."

"I think it might be," Danny glanced to the underlings who failed. "Red X had a very good excuse. I would say the same for Devastation and Psimon. Maybe even Mammoth considering the strangeness of his opponent. But Icicle Jr…your foe was the size of a fly."

"I…" Junior grew pale. "Those blasts stung!"

"I'm sure they did," Danny stepped up to the ice man to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But just so that we're clear. If the Light decided that we needed to make some kind of example, it would be you. Please step up your game. I would hate to have to shove a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger. You were childhood friends with Artemis, right?"

The joyful smile on Danny's face make Icicle Jr. feel colder for than he had felt in years. He began to tremble in fear, "U-Understood!"

"Since when are you going around disciplining people?" Jinx's voice made Danny remove his hand from Icicle's shoulder.

Danny smiled at the approaching pinkette, "Since I have taken a more active role in the Light's activities. Should I leave it to you?"

"You looked like you were doing just fine," Jinx noted. "But I can take them for some emergency training as punishment."

"That sounds good, Jennifer," Queen Bee nodded. "Thank you."

As the other moved to follow her, Jinx stared at Danny. Her pink eyes shined in judgement. He continued to smile. Everything in his features suggested that he would very well kill Icicle Jr. like he suggested. Jinx slowly nodded as if she was seeing him for the first time. There was still heavy doubt in her eyes as she turned away, though.

"She doesn't seem to trust you," Queen Bee mentioned.

Danny shrugged, "I think that she might be a bit sour that she never managed to seduce me when you first ordered her to get me to work for you. Remember back then?"

Queen Bee chuckled, "You were such a child back then. I barely had to try to enthrall you."

"Luckily people change," Danny laughed again. "I was so naïve back then. Wish I could go back and avoid resisting the Light. Or remember when you used your pheromones on me. I bet I was a goof."

"She could try it again~" Thorn purred. "I would love to see that. Maybe be a part of it. That would be a yummy sandwich."

"I wouldn't suggest that," Danny noted. "Ember can be a bit possessive. She would probably end up ripping out your tongues. Maybe mine too. Or she would be into it. Who knows?"

Queen Bee shook her head, "I must say, this banter is nice. It's a breath of fresh air. While the others are great to work with, they are a bit too formal at times."

"I do take pride in my ability to mix business in pleasure," Danny reached into his jacket to pull out a piece of writing. "Speaking of which, I do have some good news for you. My information network recently grew, so I have a lead on finding your sister."

Queen Bee's eyes grew wide, "You found Andromeda?"

"Indeed," Danny sighed. "The poor girl. She could die any day now. I truly think that a quick death would be a mercy to her."

* * *

(Monday-February 19, 2046)

Box Lunch frowned as she watched Wally work on the time machine, "I still don't understand all this. You disappeared thirty years ago."

From beneath the lifted up machine, Kid Flash held out a hand, "Flathead screwdriver, please."

Luna handed him the tool, "Here you go."

"Thanks," now that he had his tool, Wally addressed the leader of the last Remnants of humanity. "That's the complicated thing about my ability to travel through time. I use the Speed Force. It's a special energy that can only be tapped into by moving at near inconceivable speeds."

"Do you think that I can do it then?" Bart asked excitedly while peeking under the time machine.

"Possibly," Wally grunted. "Don't know what would happen if two people could do it, though. The force would be divided in that case."

"Well, how do you get to the point that you can use it?" Luna questioned.

Wally slid out from beneath the device. He lowered his shirt to show a burning CW symbol inside a gear, "Clockwork gave me his blessing to travel through time. I haven't used it a lot because it's dangerous. I don't have Clockwork's foresight, so I have no idea what my actions will do. For example, if I change the past, then it could cause a rippling effect which would create a paradox where tons of things change. For example, Superman might have crashed into Mars instead of Earth."

Box Lunch narrowed her eyes, "Theoretically, right?"

"Yeah…" Wally coughed. "Theoretically."

"Is that why you didn't save Artemis?" Luna inquired.

Wally hid his expression by moving back under the machine, "Yeah…That's it…"

"If it's so dangerous, then why did you do it?" Bart tilted his head to the side.

"Look around," Wally referred to the destroyed Mount Justice. "I'm well aware of how badly things go. That's why I'm here. I found the safest point to intervene and went for it. Luna is a big key to saving things."

Bart frowned, "Not me?"

"You're going to help, but trust me when I say that the problems need a halfa's touch," Wally sighed. "Things got really bad after the Blackest Night. The half-ghosts lost their fighting spirit. Re-inspiring them might be the catalyst that we need to help prevent a ton of deaths."

"What about the paradox thing?" Box Lunch frowned.

"I'm interfering with my current time, so there shouldn't be too much of a rippling effect," Wally explained. "Hopefully. Look, I'm not Clockwork. I can make calculated guesses, but I don't know for sure."

"It's good enough for me," Luna noted. "So the plan is still to go back to the day that the Flash died."

"Yes," Wally stated. "We'll save him and then have you work with Young Justice. That will let you work on keeping Blue Beetle off mode while bringing out the old Spirit. Then…the biggest thing. We have to save Danny."

Luna took a deep breath, "My father? He died at the end of March, right?"

Wally closed his eyes, "Yeah. That's when everything went wrong. Spirit quit. Dusk went mad. Vlad got reckless. The Light became unstable. And then…God. So many enemies. We need to keep him alive no matter what. That's going to be way harder than with Uncle Barry, though. There's never been a casual free Doomsday attack after all."

* * *

 **Extra: "Get a Room"**

Joel grunted as he moved to the broom closet to get some extra trash bags for the kitchen. Ace and Gizmo had been kind enough to let them stay for a while, so he tried to help up as much as he could. When he pulled open the door, he instantly regretted it.

"By the gods!"

"Yeah. You like that?"

"Woah!" Joel turned away from the naked forms of Donna and Jason.

Alerted, the duo pulled away from each other. Donna used her hands to cover her private areas. One hand went high, while the other went low. Jason quickly reached down to pull his shirt over his groin, "You could knock first, dude!"

"This is the broom closet, jackass!" Joel slammed the door shut. "I'm not supposed to have to knock to open it!"

"M-My apologies, Joel," Donna's voice was accompanied by the sound of her hurriedly put her underwear back on. "I was weak to Jason's advances."

"Lies!" Jason seemed to be taking his time in covering himself. "You're the one that came up behind and grabbed me by the crotch! Going on about how you needed a post workout massage!"

"I-I was intending to go to our room."

"Then why did you rip my pants in half?"

Joel had heard enough. He stomped away while trying to forget the images burned into his brain. This was too much. It was time to put an end to this.

(One day later…)

"Um," Jason blinked up at the intervention banner. "What is this about?"

"You know what this is about, snotburgers!" Gizmo pointed to the undead man and immortal woman. "You two have been bumping uglies in every place other than your room! We're sick of it!"

Donna's face flushed, "Thou must be exaggerating. Sure, there was the closet incident from yesterday, but we haven't been caught that many times."

"Really?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "What about two days ago when I found you bent over that couch?"

"What?" Richard blinked. "That's where I sit! Why didn't you tell me?"

Cassandra shrugged.

"Also what about when you were doing your bull rider impression on the kitchen table," Mal mentioned.

Starfire paused in her raising of her sandwich. She stared at the food that she had crafted on that very same table.

"Don't forget the shower incident," Rose mentioned.

"Hey!" Jason frowned. "That's pretty normal! You're supposed to knock before entering the bathroom anyway."

"I agree…" Rose gave a sickenly sweet smile. "If it weren't in the one in my room!"

"Look…" Joel clapped his hands together. "We get that both of you are just enjoying the benefits of your relationship after being separated by Death. All the power to you, but we don't want to see it. I have seen my friend's erect penis too many times. Stay. In. Your. Room."

The couple nodded, "Understood."

(Three days later…)

"Disney, huh?" Starfire sat on the couch. "And this movie is Frost and the Beards?"

Joel snorted as he inserted the movie into the DVD player, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You said that you wanted to learn the basics of mythology. Disney movies are a good intro."

"Okay," Starfire leaned into him when he sat down next to him. "I-Is this okay?"

Joel's faced gained a light blush, "Yeah. In fact, I—For the love of God! Jason! Donna! What the hell is this?!"

Jason rushed into the room to see the video of him and Donna playing on the television, "You weren't supposed to find that!"

Starfire tilted her head in curiosity, "This is strange. Why are they wearing those weird clothes?"

Joel groaned, "It's called roleplaying, but the real question is…WHY WAS IT IN A FAMILY MOVIE CASE?!"

"I had to organize which video was which some way," Jason noted. "Look on the bright side, though. At least we stayed in our room."

* * *

 **The best characters are the ones where the dialogue just flows out with ease. In Conviction, my favorite character to write was Nekron. His power and charisma were just so fun. I think that Thorn might fill that role in this story. My God…I didn't think that I could write such a sexually charged character. She doesn't just own her sexuality. She has it wrapped around her whip and is making it beg for release (pun intended). The whole Youngblood family storyline was my favorite subplot to begin with, but Thorn added some new breath to it. She's going to be FUN.**

 **Next chapter is Luna's time to shine. I'm excited.**

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to...**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


	8. Descendants

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Your descendants shall gather your fruits." Virgil

* * *

Chapter 8: "Descendants"

(Wednesday-February 28, 2046)

Wally nodded to his companions in the future, "I'm going to head back now. I'll meet you in Central City. Are you ready to put on a show?"

Bart adjusted the yellow tinted goggles. His red and white suit clung to his body like a second skin, "Yeah. Speedster loudmouth. I can do that."

"It helps that you're already halfway there," Luna slid her green sunglasses on the top of her head. "I don't know about me. Happy go lucky teenage girl isn't exactly my thing."

"Sorry, but Nightwing will immediately know that the tourist backstory is bullshit if you act like a cynical asshole the entire time," Wally looked to her. "It's important that you do this if you want to move around somewhat freely. It also means that you have to pretend that everything is fine in this time. Even with Dani. If you can't do it, then we're going to have to wait so you can get some more practice."

Luna stared at him for a moment before giggling. She gave a wide smile while tilting her head cutely to the side, "Don't worry! I can totally do this! It's going to be so much fun seeing all the old heroes before they became total legends!"

"Good," Wally looked around to see that the ashen land of Earth. Sighing, he turned to Box Lunch. "I'll come back when everything is set into motion so that we can see if anything needs adjustment."

"Will we remember you?" Box Lunch questioned.

"No. None of you should remember anything except for you. As long as you're holding that," Wally pointed to the Clockwork medallion in her hand. "Are you sure that you want to be the only one to bear the weight of knowing the truth?"

"She won't be alone," a large, muscular man with crimson hair stepped up next to Box Lunch. He took her hand in his so they were both holding the medallion. "We went through everything together. That won't change now, love."

"Collin," Box Lunch's usual hardened features softened as she looked at her husband. "Thank you."

"Alright. Let's get started," Wally turned away from them. "See you in the past."

Before anyone could say anything, the speedster began to run. Even Bart couldn't keep up as he was covered in electricity and disappeared into the time stream. With the current master of time gone, Luna turned to the machine that he helped create, "Let's go."

"Not looking forward to getting in there," Bart grumbled. Before he could take a step forward, the bald prisoner that they tried to kidnap months ago jumped in front of him.

"Do you have the pill?"

"I do, Neutron," Bart held up the tiny capsule.

Neutron flinched, "Please don't call me that. I did so many things during my time as Neutron."

"Don't worry," Luna spoke up. "Stopping you is step one. Just wait. As soon as we're gone, everything will be fixed."

* * *

(Sunday-February 28, 2016)

"I still don't buy it Chesh," Red Arrow glared down to the Tibetan compound at the bottom of the hill. He and his wife stood amongst the cold snow with only winter coats covering their uniforms. "It's too easy. The good guys have been looking for the real Roy Harper for years. And suddenly you just—"

"I go to places the good guys don't," Cheshire spoke up. "And stop calling him the real Roy Harper. You may be his clone, but I need you to be real. Our daughter needs you to be real."

Red Arrow reached over behind his partner to pull up the bag on her back. His giggling daughter looked at him with eyes of pure love. Even amongst the bitter cold, he couldn't keep a warm smiling from drifting over his lips.

"You can't be the father Liam deserves until you get your 'original Roy' guilt out of your system," Cheshire glared back at her husband. "So let's get it done."

"Well, I'll be damned! They did actually have a brat! I thought that you were yanking my chain!"

Red Arrow whipped around with his bow ready. He paused when he saw Black Bat and Ravager approaching them, "What are you two doing here?"

"Making sure that this goes smoothly," Black Bat moved to look over the compound. "I invested a lot into this. I wouldn't have for you two to sneak out of owing me a favor on a technicality."

"Or if they died. Couldn't help ya if they died," Ravager titled her head to get a better view of the baby. "She's precious."

"Thanks," Cheshire muttered dryly. "No offense, but I don't want you around my daughter."

"None taken," Ravager giggled. "I'm a terrible influence."

"What did she mean by invested?" Red Arrow hissed at his wife. "I thought that Danny was the one that passed on the info."

"And where did you think he got it from? He was the middle man," Cheshire explained. "While he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart, they…"

"We want allies when the time is right," Black Bat turned to them. "I've been observing the Shadows for years in order to get to Ra's. If I'm going to kill him, then I need proper help. I'm working on building a force that can bring down the Demon Head and keep him there."

"Ah. So that's why I've seen all those reports of you helping Dusk," Red Arrow nodded. "Good luck convincing him to help, though. I'm willing to make this kind of deal for the real…original Roy. Him, though, I doubt there's any price he'll accept to take a life at this point."

"He doesn't have to," Black Bat cracked her knuckles. "He's the part of the effort to keep him dead. I want Ra's. One-on-one. I'll enjoy watching the light fade from his eyes."

Ravager let out a low whistle, "That's hardcore. Even for me. With everything settled, though, I got to ask. Why bring the kid? You training her young or something?"

"No. Everyone I would trust to babysit her is busy today," Cheshire moved a finger to tease her daughter. "So it's take your baby to work day~ Yes it is~ Yes it is~"

Red Arrow groaned when Liam giggled, "There's no hope for her to grow up normally, is there?"

"None at all."

* * *

"You okay, Dani?" Victor looked over to his girlfriend.

"Huh?" Dani looked away from the painting that she was observing. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You just look…" Victor sighed. "Conflicted."

"I guess I'm just thinking," Dani sat down on the bench behind her. They stood at the edge of a large art show. Dozens of different art pieces covered the wall in front of her. She had been talking with people for hours, but the event was dying down so she allowed herself to rest.

"What are you thinking about?" Victor used Fenton disguise technology to hide his metal appearance. He now looked like a normal almost fully grown young man.

"Nothing, I just…" Dani sighed. She blinked up to him with wide pleading eyes. "Get me a soda? I'm parched."

"Err…Yeah. Of course," smiling, Victor turned to get his girlfriend a drink.

With him gone, Dani allowed herself to deflate. Ignoring the people around her, she turned to her painting. A man without any features was holding up the world on his shoulders. The vastness of space swirled around him. All the weight of the world pressed down on the man's shoulders to the point that he was completely cracked and broken. The world seemed to be slipping away from the man. It began to break without the man to support them. Pieces from the planet drifted away, past the moon, and into the void of space.

"Well done getting him to give you space. It was perfect manipulation."

Dani blinked as a woman sat beside her. She hissed, "Thorn?!"

Thorn raised a finger over her lips. Unlike in the desert, the ghost wore a far more subdued outfit. A strapless long, green dress covered her body. While the skin of her shoulders were exposed for everyone to see, every piece of skin below that was covered. Despite being covered, though, very little of her curves were left to the imagination. The dress almost acted like a second skin.

"No need to get upset. I'm not here to fight," Thorn crossed her legs.

Dani's eyes narrowed, "Then why are you visiting my human persona? Are more members of the Light around?"

"Don't worry. I didn't tell them about your double life," Thorn gently patted Dani's leg. "A woman has to have her own secrets. And I did tell you that I would be in touch. What better time than to visit you than when you show off your first piece in months. It's lovely by the way."

"Thanks," Dani's eyes darted around to make sure that Thorn was telling the truth.

"Relax. This is just a friendly visit," Thorn smiled. "Did you follow my advice with your little blonde friend?"

"If you mean that I made up with her, then yes," Dani frowned.

"Oh, I can see that you did exactly what I said," Thorn giggled. "And you're learning how to manipulate your man. Fantastic. You're getting the hand of using your words. Now for lesson two. It's time to learn how to use your looks to your advantage."

"My looks?" Dani shook her head. "What does that mean?"

"It's twofold," Thorn stated. "One, it refers to properly conveying what you want through your expression. A quick pout. Wide eyes. Tilt of the head. Like what you did with your boy toy, but enhanced tenfold. Like an actress. Try practicing in the mirror."

Dani couldn't hold back her intrigue, "And what's the second part?"

"Your body," Thorn stood and gestured for Dani to do the same. "My sweet, you are stunning. Men would roll over for you. Women would kill to look like you, yet you're acting like a nun. Strut your stuff."

Dani looked down to her clothes. A large plaid shirt covered her white tank top and the top portion of her jeans, "What's wrong with this? It's comfortable."

"I'm not saying that you should change your style. The girl next door times one hundred is a fantastic look for you. A little thought into the small details can go a long way, though," Thorn gestured to herself. "Look at me. This is a very comfortable outfit. Much more than my battle attire. Yet in some ways, it's more seductive than a miniskirt. It lets people's imaginations run wild. Let me tell you, a man's fantasies will explode with the right amount of hints. Here. Let's do a few adjustments."

Dani's eyes were wide when Thorn pulled at her shirt, "W-What are you doing!? We're in public."

"Don't worry," Thorn flashed a knife into her hands. No one around them reacted. "They won't notice what I don't want them to. Now hold still."

Gulping, Dani allowed Thorn to do what she wanted. Within a few minutes, her work was done. Dani now stood in a familiar yet different outfit. Thorn had used her reality warping ability to alter the jeans so that they hugged Dani's legs perfectly. A few tears in the pants showed slivers of the flawless skin underneath. Her plaid shirt had been removed from her shoulders so that it could be firmly tied around her hips to emphasize the explosion of curves below her waist. One strap of her tank top had been cut off as the shirt shifted to emphasize the swell of her chest.

Thorn stepped away after fixing her hair and moving her beanie to the right position, "Perfect. Take a look."

Dani blinked in shock as Thorn held up a tiny mirror. A few strands of her hair fell around her eyes to lead attention to how soft her lips were, "I-Is that me?"

"Yes, darling," Thorn pulled the mirror back before snapping her fingers. "Now watch."

Dani felt eyes burn against her back. As subtly as possible, she stole looks towards the crowd. While Thorn took some attention, most people focused on her as one of the artists in the show. She felt somewhat uncomfortable at the looks of desire by the men. The jealous eyes from the women were even worse, though. Despite feeling self-conscious, though, the feeling of pure power over people overshadowed the discomfort.

"Fashion is art too, you know," Thorn mentioned. "Done right, and a woman's beauty will be unrivaled by anything. As an artist, you should appreciate it. You have refined taste after all. Your painting is beautiful. Is it based off your brother?"

Dani turned to her art, "Err, kind of. I was more thinking of my entire family, but he was a big part of it."

"I see," Thorn smiled. "Don't worry, my lovely. The world won't end. We're going to keep it alive."

"We? You mean the Light?"

"No. You and me," Thorn giggled.

"Just because you gave me a few fashion tips doesn't mean that there is a 'you and me'," Dani stated. "You're the enemy."

"For now," Thorn turned to leave. A knowing smiled covered her face as she moved to the exit. "But you'd be surprised how things and people can change. The path to a new world is already in motion."

Dani watched as she left. Part of her wanted to stop her, but this wasn't the time to start any fight. Too many prying eyes and innocents that could get hurt. Still, she had a bad feeling about what Thorn said. Before she could call after the woman, Victor returned, "Hey, sorry it took—Woah!"

She turned to see her boyfriend staring at her in awe. A shiver of delight ran up her spine at the near worship that shined in his eyes, "Um, hi."

"What happened while I was gone? You look…amazing. Not that you weren't pretty before, but…" Victor was at a loss for words. "Wow."

Feeling oddly satisfied, Dani turned her gaze back to the exit to see that Thorn had disappeared, "A stranger gave me some tips. You like?"

"I really like," Victor answered dumbly.

"Good," Dani gave a brilliant smile that made her look like the most beautiful woman alive. "It does feel nice to look my best…"

* * *

"Is that the Krolotean intel?" Robin stepped up next to Nightwing and Oracle as they examined holographic data in the middle of the Cave.

"Yes," Oracle nodded. "I've been pouring over the data that M'gann and J'onn retrieved from Malina Island for a month. We even contacted Danny for help, but translation is rough."

"From what we understand, they were looking for humans for a term which roughly translates to meta-gene," Nightwing stroked his chin. "Danny seems to think that it refers to the gene sequence that lets some humans gain superhuman abilities. Like the Flash or Black Canary. He looked into it too but didn't get far."

"What about Damon and Harriet?" Robin questioned. "They got powers from that gas from Axion Labs, right?"

"That was mostly Hotep Ra manipulating the formula with his Black Lantern ring," Oracle noted. "Even Batman looked at the chemical reaction and couldn't figure out how to replicate it with a Green Lantern ring."

"So they wanted to find a way to give humans powers," the gears turned in Robin's head. "And they are weapons dealers. You think they wanted to create living weapons?"

"After the Intergang incident, I wouldn't doubt that people would try—" Nightwing paused as red lights flared in alert. The computer's voice sounded out the danger to them.

 **Unknown energy impulse detected.**

All three members of the Batfamily whirled around to see a ball of electricity form at the center of the Cave. While Robin and Nightwing took defensive stances, Oracle pulled out an ectoplasmic pistol in order to protect herself. They watched as the light died down to show a weird capsule appear in mid-air. It immediately landed on the ground with a crash. Smoke rushed out of the entrance as the door swung open.

"Stand ready," Nightwing growled to his companions.

Their defensiveness was not noted as two people jumped out of the pod. Bart landed with his arms out, "Tada!"

 **Intruder alert! Intruder alert!**

"Computer, lockdown Cave!" Nightwing ordered.

"Oh, my back! I'm really feeling the mode!" Luna floated through the air while clutching her spine. "One trip was like totally not a good idea, Bart!"

"What?" Bart turned to her. "You were the one that wanted to save some cash!"

"Yeah, but you could have least let me overshadow you…"

"Not crash, Luna!"

"Yeah!" Nightwing had enough of their antics. "Surrender and identify yourselves immediately!"

"But…we kind of just did," Luna blinked at them. "Well, whatever. I'm Luna Masters, and this is Bart Allen."

Oracle blinked, "Masters? Allen?"

"Legacy!" Bart moaned. "Codenames, remember? Keep up the tradition!"

"Hey, you broke it too, Bar—Impulse!"

"Yeah, but you did it first!"

"Wait," Robin stared wide eyed at Luna. "She's definitely a ghost!"

"Yeah, we're both super powered rock stars! Not that not having powers is terrible. You three do awesome without them," Impulse disappeared in a blur. He reappeared in between Robin and Nightwing. "Tim Drake. Dick Grayson. Barbara Gordon."

"Impulse!" Legacy stomped her feet in the air. "You just got onto me about codenames!"

"Right! Right!" Impulse nodded. "Robin the Third. Nightwing. Batgirl…nope! Oracle! Sorry, we're in post Joker phase. I got my lore wrong. Didn't mean to open up that old wound. By the way, we're the rest of the Team? Cyborg. Spirt. Blue Beetle?"

"You know us," Oracle grew pale.

"Well, duh! You're famous in the future!" Legacy giggled. "Total heroes! It's crash!"

"And crash is…good?" Robin questioned.

"Definitely. A lot better than being on mode," Impulse explained.

"Gah! Being put on mode is the absolute worse!" Legacy groaned.

"You never answered my question? Is Blue Beetle around? Never mind! I'll check for myself!" Impulse zoomed away at speeds that were impossible to follow.

"I'm like starving! Where's the kitchen?" Legacy floated through the wall to find the kitchen. She immediately phased a hand through the refrigerator door to pull out an apple. As she ate the fruit, Oracle rolled into the room and opened fire on the ghost. Lifting a single hand, Luna blocked the blasts with her hand. To Oracle's shock, the halfa absorbed the energy shots into her body.

Ignoring the wheelchair bound girl, Legacy fazed through the walls again to watch as her friend zoomed through the halls. He checked in every room for his goal. As he moved, he messed up every piece of paper in sight. She laughed as she watched him flood the shower room, sending a small wave to crash into Robin. Her giggling only grew as he got tripped up by metal balls spread out across the floor.

"Ha!" Legacy disintegrated the remains of the apple. "You got put on—Oof!"

It was Bart's turn to laugh as Nightwing trapped the girl with glowing green bolas which swung around her entire waist, "Like you're one to talk, Legacy."

"Oh," Luna pouted. "We both got put on mode so fast…"

* * *

"Hey!" the Parasite shouted as he banged against the metal door to his cell. "This isn't what I signed up for!"

All the other members of the Suicide Squad looked up from what they were doing. Those in cages like him quickly went back to what they were doing. Most of the few free members of Task Force X ignored the raging villain. Only one person moved to address the power absorbing man. Red X stepped across the circular metal room in order to move directly in front of the Parasite's cell.

"Is there a problem?" Red X questioned. Her helmet slid up to show her face

"I'm on deployment for months, and then when I'm done, I get shoved into a cage!" Parasite tightly gripped the bars of his door. "I thought I was signing up to be freed!?"

"You were. After we've decided that you're capable of adjusting back into society," Red X noted. "Until then, you will be kept in this holding facility. I believe that this is far better than your old cell in Belle Reve."

She was right. Parasite's room was one of luxury. He had a large bed covered by silk sheets. His wall was covered by a huge entertainment assortment. A fridge filled with the finest food available was tucked into the corner. He even had a door leading to a private restroom, "The quality of a cage doesn't make it any less of a cage. I signed up to be free."

"Unfortunately, you are far from considered rehabilitated," Red X stated. "You haven't even had a meeting with our psychologist yet."

"You really think that you can fix people like this?"

Red X began to count fingers, "The Cheetah was cured of her transformation and given a new identity. Ragdoll has a yoga school in L.A. Deadshot retired to Hawaii. Pretty good track record overall. Granted, some have been here a while, but they're special cases."

Harley Quinn looked up from her book, "She's talking about me!"

"We got her to move past the Joker," Red X whispered. "But there's no way she's ready to head back to Gotham yet."

"What about them!?" Parasite pointed out to the center of the room where five people sat around the poker table.

"Cinderblock, Silver Banshee, and Amorpho are not criminals. They're here on business," Red X shrugged. "As for Killer Frost and Harm, they chose to continue this line of work."

"I'd just get pulled into one of Icicle Sr.'s stupid plans again anyway," Frost carefully examined her cards. Her blue hair matched the sickly cold azul of her skin. "The pay and benefits are good."

"Harm has too much to atone for. He must continue to work to redeem himself," Harm ignored the card game in favor of meditating.

"Like it or not, this is your life now," Red X argued. "It was either this or be in a cage for the rest of your life. We only enlist those that have been cast off by society, the heroes, and even the Light."

"Great feeling to be used a thrown away when your work is done," Killer Frost mumbled unhappily. "Reminds me of prom night."

Amorpho snorted, "The more I talk to you, Miss Frost. The more I worry about having my nether regions frozen."

"You're fine as long as you don't make a pass at me," Frost shrugged. "I think everyone at this table is safe."

"You wish, lady," Cinderblock grumbled. His voice was the equivalent of gravel being rubbed up against each other. His massive stone body stood several feet over the rest of his companions. Glowing red eyes glared down from his square shaped head. "The men might not be interested, but Banshee could still decide that she likes playing in the snow."

The Silver Banshee elbowed him on his side. Her long flowing hair was a mismatch of black and white. The skin of her face was deathly pale with her cheekbones sunken in and black. A black stitch pattern covered her mouth. Her rather voluptuous frame was covered by a torn white dress which stood as complete contrast to the black bodysuit beneath it, "Stop giving people ideas. Harley kept flirting with me for six months because of you."

Cinderblock shrugged, "I'm just trying to open up possibilities."

Banshee scoffed, "I liked you back when you couldn't talk."

Red X turned her attention back to Parasite, "As you can see, this is hardly the worst position for you to be in. Do your work, and you'll eventually—"

Parasite silenced her by grabbing her scarred face. Once again, everyone in the room turned to look at him. This time they didn't go back to ignoring him. They watched with hard eyes. Only Captain Boomerang took it in stride as he popped open a beer to properly enjoy the show.

"What are you doing?" Red X questioned.

"Getting out of here," Parasite began to yell. "Let me go or I drain her dry."

No one moved to help her.

"Fool," Red X stepped back. Parasite tightened his hold on her face. To his shock, this didn't stop her. She continued to move back even ask the skin began to peel from her skull. Flinching in disgust, he tossed the skin away to stare at the robotic skull of Red X.

"Did you think that I was human?" Red X questioned. Her robotic eyes narrowed. "I'm an A.I. You can't drain me."

"I…" Parasite's eyes were wide.

"Perhaps we should rethink our stance on you," Red X pulled out a dart gun. She shot him in the neck with a tranquilizer before he could react. He tried to stay on his feet for a few seconds before he tumbled to the floor.

"Cinderblock," Red X turned to the poker table. "Could you take him to solitary confinement?"

Nodding, the massive stone man moved to pick up the downed villain as Red X opened the cell door. Once he had Parasite on his shoulders, he moved to take him down the exit hall. Sharing a look, Silver Banshee and Amorpho moved to follow him. As they stepped out of the room, Red X addressed the remaining members of the Suicide Squad to be careful of their choices in order to avoid ending up like Parasite or Slipknot. They made their way to a tiny room at the end of a long hall. It was barely big enough for a fully grown man to fit inside. Once he placed Parasite into the tiny chamber, Cinderblock slammed the door shut.

"I hate that room," Banshee crossed her arms. "It's cruel."

"He brought it upon himself," Amorpho slowly spun his cane. "Don't forget that we work with criminals. Any one of them would kill us if they had the chance. We must remain stern."

"Doing this kind of shit is the worst part of the job, though," Cinderblock mentioned. "How long before you think that he starts begging?"

"I give him twelve days," Banshee stated.

"He's a glutton for punishment. My data would suggest that he will get through twenty before starting to crack," Amorpho suggested.

"Twenty days in that tiny metal hole with no one to talk to," Cinderblock began to shrink. His massive form moved to a still rather large man covered in muscles. A black suit covered his thick frame. Gray hairs began to form across his dark mustache. His chocolate skin only further emphasized his age. "I don't think that I'd last a week."

"Humans are social creatures. Absolute solitude is perhaps the worst form of torture still legal," Amorpho suggested. "But if it makes you feel any tougher. My analysis of you shows that you could last a month, Damon."

Damon Gray shook his head, "I'm not that tough."

"It's not about toughness," Amorpho argued. "It's about mental fortitude. You, out of everyone I know, have come back from the darkest of depths. I know that your mind matches the durability of your stone form."

"No. The silence would kill me," Damon closed his eyes. "I can't stand it. Val's voice always comes back when it's too quiet."

"Damon," Silver Banshee's form also began to change to that of an Asian woman with long black hair. She gently rubbed her hand over his arm, but he didn't react.

"I…I'm sorry," Amorpho looked away. "I don't know how to approach this."

"Neither do I," Damon released a shuddered breath. "I thought that doing this would fix things, but I get this sickening feeling that my old family would hate what I'm doing."

"We live in desperate times, Damon," Harriet Chin soothed the man.

"Doesn't make this easier. Working with criminals. Serving the Light. Fighting and torturing people," Damon shook his head. "I'd never imagine I'd do any of this."

"You'd be surprised how quickly people can adapt," Amorpho noted. "I saw it all the time during my work in my old life of espionage. They will throw their every principle and moral away if needed. You, though, have continued to hold onto your sense of goodness. This pushes you above the rest, my friend."

"Thank you, Amorpho."

The ghost seemed ready to speak again when a beeping sounded from his coat. He pulled out his phone to see his message, "It seems that I'm needed by the boss. We can continue this later. Hopefully over some cold drinks."

"Yeah," Harriet and Damon watched him float back down the hallway. Once he was gone, Harriet turned to the man. "He's right you know. You are a good man, Damon."

"I don't know, but I can't argue with the both of you," Damon sighed.

"Damn straight," Harriet pulled him down to kiss him. After a few seconds of lip lock, she pulled away.

"Did you ever think that we would end up like this, love?" Damon whispered to the only woman he had been with since his wife had passed. "Metahumans in the most powerful taskforce on Earth? Two years ago, I wouldn't have imagined it."

"Seven years ago, I laughed at Jack Fenton's obsession ghosts. Now my closest friends are ghosts, A.I.'s and a man with a heart of stone," Harriet mumbled. "So much about my life has changed that nothing can surprise me anymore."

"It does me. I look at where we are, and I'm shocked," Damon paused. "No. I'm more sad than anything. I know that we're working for the greater good. I trust Danny, but so many things feel wrong. Tell me. Do you think that Val would approve of my life right now?"

Harriet was silent.

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

* * *

Joel glanced over Richard's shoulder to the wall of monitors in front of him. He, the blonde technopath, and Mal were all in Richard's tiny room in Dakota City. Most of the space was taken up either by computer equipment or spare parts for his tech. Not even the bed was free of metal scrap, "What do you mean that there's no record of him?"

"It's exactly what I said," Richard glared bitterly at the screen directly in front of him. "I hacked everything I could get into. Every country's records of shipment and travel. Even Bialya. Hell, I even got into Lex Corp. But there's nothing. Virgil's disappeared from the face of the planet."

"The Light has been working with aliens. Plus, he was last in a boom tube hot spot," Mal suggested. "He could be off planet."

"I've thought of that, so I activated a tracer that would track boom tube usage. Nothing has gone off planet since our Bialya raid," Richard shook his head. "I've also been keeping track of satellite footage. No unscheduled ships have crossed the atmosphere. No way he's out in space, especially if the Light wants to constantly keep track of their progress in…whatever they're doing."

"So not off planet but beyond sight?" Mal hummed. "What about a pocket dimension?"

"Not likely," Joel crossed his arms. "Any interdimensional tears are impossible after the Ghost Zone was sealed off."

"Exactly, so that only leaves two options. Either underground or underwater," Richard stated. "I've been considering ideas about using echo pulses beneath the surface in order to try to find anything, but it would take me months to build that type of tech. Even then, it would take years to properly search the planet with it."

"If it were underground, then there would be some kind of trail. Either a paper one from hiding the hole, or a physical from all the digging," Mal stated.

"Underwater it is, then," Joel nodded. "Luckily, Vlad's been working with Aquaman. We should be able to begin a search immediately."

"How long will it take?" Richard questioned. "Most of the Earth's surface is covered by water. That's a lot to search."

"Kaldur isn't an idiot. He'll figure out that if it's in his domain, it's probably somewhere outside his sight. Somewhere deep," Joel stroked his chin. "Plus, he will have a lead. If it's underwater, then Black Manta is involved."

Mal grimaced, "That's probably not going to be a pretty family reunion."

"It's one that was bound to happen eventually. Evil Dads are persistent," Joel sighed. "Trust me on this one."

"Well, it's better than nothing," Richard lowered his head. "We have to find Virgil. His family is losing their minds in worry. Hell, I'm losing my mind in worry. What if we're too late?"

"We won't be," Joel placed a hand on Richard's shoulder. "We'll save your friend and all the other hostages that they have. I guarantee it."

* * *

"So…You're both tourists from the future?" Oracle questioned the two tied up time travelers.

"Why act so surprised?" Bart smiled happily. "Half the meat at Comic Con are from my era."

"Highfather have mercy!" Legacy rolled her eyes. "Impulse! They're not supposed to know that!"

"Right! Right! My bad," Impulse shrugged.

"If both what you say is true, then you can give us info on our enemies current movement," Robin noted.

"Like no! Spoilers are the worst! Besides, that would totally mess up the timeline," Legacy snorted. "Besides, things turn out fine. Obviously. Otherwise we wouldn't be visiting."

"Still, it's hard to believe," Oracle tapped her chin. "A speedster and a ghost. Allen and Masters. Who are you related to then?"

"Isn't it obvious by my ungodly speed and dashing good looks?" Bart did his best to pose dramatically while tied up. "I'm the grandson of the Flash, Barry Allen."

"And I'm the granddaughter of Spirt, Danielle Masters," Legacy smiled.

"You do look like her," Oracle stared at Luna's face.

"Yeah. Fenton genes are strong, right? Like, people still tell me that I got my great-grandpa's face and great-great-grandma's chin!" Luna exclaimed.

Nightwing interrupted the conversation by bringing in a cup of water. He held it up to Bart's mouth, "Here. You must be thirsty."

"Thanks," Bart took a sip but paused. "Oh! Very clever! Trying to get my DNA! All you had to do was ask!"

As Impulse spat into the cup, Legacy flirtilly blinked at Nightwing, "Do you want my DNA too, handsome? If you want my spit, though, I'd prefer a kiss to a cup of water."

Oracle face palmed, "Every teenage girl. Why every teenage girl?"

Nightwing grimaced, "You're, uh, a bit young for that."

"Allfather have mercy! You sound so old!" Legacy rolled her eyes. "Don't be a little chicken fricassee."

Nightwing's eyes went wide. Impulse gasped at her, "Luna! Geeze! Watch the language! If my dad ever heard you say that, then he'd wash my mouth out to make sure that I don't run my mouth off either!"

"Fricassee…the curse word of the future…" Nightwing chuckled. "Danny and I never told anyone about that. Okay. I believe you two."

"That's great. Now that's cleared up, let's move on. We got a lot of sightseeing to do," Legacy nodded at Bart.

The speedster immediately vibrated through his chains before freeing Legacy as well. Once able to use her powers, Legacy turned them intangible so that they could run straight through the walls of the Cave. Now in the open air, Impulse broke out into his stop speed with Luna clutching his shoulders to keep hold of him as he moved faster than she ever could.

"They seem nice," Luna noted. She watched as the beautiful living world of Earth zoomed past her. This time looked so amazing. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the dullness of the future.

"Yeah, they live up to the stories," Bart nodded. "Almost called Tim, Red Robin though. Have to be careful about what we say."

"I think we did a good job," Luna smirked. "If I didn't know better, I would have assumed that you were a total airhead."

"Same with you. You pull off generic teenage girl real well," Bart looked back at her. "You even flirted with Nightwing."

Luna gained a wicked grin, "What makes you think that part was fake."

"Uh huh. Sure," Bart rolled his eyes. "It was so cringe. 'Oh Nightwing, suck face with me.' If you were flirting, you'd get up in his face, tell him to be a man, and force your tongue down his throat."

"And you were so quick to give your DNA. I remember when you freaked out on me for flicking some dandruff off your shoulder," Luna sighed. "This act is going to get tough. I'm already exhausted."

"Well get ready," Bart noted. "We're getting close. We have to make a good impression on the Flash family."

"Right," Luna nodded. Deep down, she didn't care any bit about making a good impression on anyone outside of those directly related to her. While Bart got to meet family, she wouldn't get to see hers today. She had to wonder what they were all doing. Her Grandma's notes only said that she was busy on the day that the Flash died.

* * *

Constantine took a deep inhale of the cigarette in between his fingers. Leaning back into his chair, he watched cars rushing down the busy street off to the side. The sound of a chair brushing against concrete drew his attention across the table. Zatanna whipped some of her long raven hair behind her ear. She had forgone her usual magician's attire for a black coat and jeans, "You're late."

"No. I'm on time. You were early," Zatanna's crimson lips twitched upward.

"Huh?" Constantine looked at his watch. "Nah. I got a minute past."

"You're going to call me out on a minute?"

"You used to when we were dating," Constantine took one last puff of his fig before dropping to the floor so he could snuff it out.

Zatanna's cool blue eyes narrowed, "And you know that we would still be dating if you could let things go."

Constantine chuckled, "I could say the same to you, love."

Zatanna's hand moved to clench her stomach, "I know, but I'm not willing to give up yet."

"And I get that. Respect it even. But your obsession isn't good for you or the people around you," Constantine argued. "We're not ghosts, Z. Obsessions bring us down, not prop us up."

"Speaking of which," Zatanna reached into her coat. "That's why I called you here. I got the notes you wanted."

"Good job changing the subject," sighing, Constantine took the papers. "Thanks. I'm going to need them for Johnny."

"Johnny 13…" Zatanna slowly nodded. "He's Youngblood's dad. Thorn's lover."

"Ex-lover. They haven't been together for a long ass time," Constantine looked over the notes. "That's why I figured that you would want to be brought in on this, right? You said that you were close to the kid."

"Not really all that close. We kind of just got thrown together during the Trigon stuff," Zatanna clenched her fists. "He…was the first person I told about how Klarion's magic corrupted my womb. Then he mentioned his parents and gave me some advice. His whole story is part of the reason why I want to…fix me. So that I could can have a child that I can raise to be a good person."

Constantine rubbed his forehead in thought, "There is adoption or some such shit."

"That is an option, but…" Zatanna took a shuddered breath. "is it wrong to want a baby that came from me?"

"No. No," Constantine looked away in shame. "It's only natural. Sorry I was never much help."

"It's okay. I would have been unsettled too," Zatanna gained a determined look. "Enough of that. What are you planning to do with Thorn?"

"I don't think that I can tell you," Constantine noted. "Johnny's a loose cannon kind of guy. We might have to go against the League."

"Well," Zatanna's eyes shined. "I have always been known for being a bit of a rebel."

* * *

Vlad felt like his breath was violently being pushed out of her lungs. The image of his child on the screen was the heaviest sight that he had ever witnessed. While his chest bubbled in joy, an extreme weight pushed down on his shoulders. Vision voiced his thoughts for him, "He's the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen."

He numbly turned his head to his wife. She reclined on the medical bed. Her ever growing stomach was exposed to allow the doctor to use the ultrasound on her. Overwhelmed, he could only nod, "Yeah."

"As far as I can tell, everything is going perfectly fine with the pregnancy," the doctor adjusted her glasses. Vlad didn't really trust too many people with deep knowledge in his personal life, but Doctor Leslie Thompkins was someone who was knowledgeable of the vigilante world and was highly recommended by those in the community. Even heroes needed medical attention, after all.

"What about his genetic status?" Vision questioned. "We've only been able to make theories about him. Is he a ghost, human, or halfa?"

"Well, he has a heartbeat," Thompkins mentioned. "But he might not be using his powers. Have you felt any ectoplasmic activity from him?"

Vision nodded, "I have felt some things. He's tried to float. There have been tiny ecto bursts that really hurt. But nothing too terrible."

"Then there's no way to predict it," Thompkins shrugged. "This is unprecedented. He's obviously a partial breed, but is he half ghost? Three-quarters? Does the halfa gene overtake everything? Who knows…"

"We do know that he exists between worlds," Vlad noted. "And that's my fault."

"Vlad," Vision muttered.

"It's not an easy life," Vlad mentioned. "Even when not locked in the middle of combat, there's obsessive tendencies. You need near constant diligence to keep you powers and emotions under control. Not to mention the feeling that you don't belong anywhere."

"That's not true," Vision argued. "He belongs with our family."

"Our family does not have a lot of luck in life," Vlad stated bitterly. "I don't want him to hurt like the rest of us have. Our kids have endured too much."

"A lot of it was their choice to fight for the good of the world," Vision noted.

"They shouldn't have to, though," Vlad stared at his son. It was his only child by blood, his heir, and the one thing that he always wanted. His innocent child would be born in a harsh life where he would probably have to fight aliens off while mourning the loss of his loved ones. "Things should be better. This world should be better."

* * *

"Ah, I've always dreamed of doing this," Impulse stated as he pulled the blonde haired Barry Allen in for a hug. Suddenly, he pulled away to fix what he said. "I mean when you were young and I didn't have to worry about breaking you gramps."

As her friend addressed his grandfather, Legacy glanced about the simple home. Well, it was simple for the current time. In the future, this would have been better than most people would ever see. No cracks in the walls or windows. The lighting was perfect. All the furniture was perfectly intact. While she was admiring the house, she noted a banner proclaiming a seventy year anniversary. If she had to guess, it would probably be for the older couple who were looking at them in bewilderment. Luna remembered them from history lessons. Jay and Joan Garrick were known as the most stable couple in hero history. At this point in their lives, they were in their nineties. Fortunately, she didn't remember right off the top of her head when they died.

"Hey, Grandma!" Bart rushed over to hug the redheaded Iris Allen. "Love you too!"

With that done, Bart ran over to the old couple, "You must be the Garricks. That makes you like my honorary great grandparents."

Jay went wide-eyed when Impulse hugged them as well, "Uh, Barry? Something you've been meaning to tell us?"

"What? No!" Barry shook his head in denial. "This kid is not my grandson. From the future or any…when. Heck, Iris and I don't even have kids."

"Um, Barry?" Iris fidgeted uncomfortably.

"What?" Barry looked to her.

"I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"I found out this morning. I was gonna tell you tonight," Iris glanced to the others in the room. "In private."

Impulse waved at his grandmother's stomach, "Hi Dad. Hi Aunt Dawn."

"Wait, there're two in there?" Barry's jaw dropped.

"We're having twins?" Iris's face twisted with shock.

"Spoilers, motor mouth!" Luna punched Bart in the shoulder.

"Sorry!" Impulse rubbed his now sore limb.

"You should be," Legacy smiled at the adults. "I'm Luna by the way. It's like really crash to meet you. Well, you two in your prime, but to see the famous Garricks alive and kicking is so crash."

"Hey! You just mentioned spoilers!"

"Please. Ninety year old people dying within the next forty years? Is that really a spoiler?"

"Careful, kids," Wally stepped into the house. "If you are what you say you are, revealing too much could crash the whole time stream."

"Crash…" Bart muttered.

Luna nodded, "Yeah. If only."

"Wally?" Barry turned to his old sidekick.

"Nightwing called," Wally rubbed the back of his head. "He thought I might be of some help with this mess—Oof!"

"You're Wally West!" Bart held onto the older speedster for dear life. "My first cousin once removed."

Wally shoved Impulse away, "The operative word being removed."

The strange conversation was interrupted by a cellphone ringing. Barry was the first to answer, but the call came from Iris. Bart quickly turned around, "Don't answer that! I mean why interrupt the reunion?"

"It's my boss at GBS. What's up Pete?" Iris answered the call. Her face suddenly turned grim as she addressed her husband. "They're evacuating downtown. A new super-powered lunatic is calling for blood. Your blood."

Nodding, Barry unleashed his Flash suit from the ring on his finger. In a rush of crimson, he put on the suit to appear as the Scarlet Speedster. Bart didn't seem to like this, "Let the League handle this guy. I mean how often does a relative from the future show up at your door?"

"Listen, I…" Flash sighed. "I'll deal with you later. Stay put. I'll be back in a flash."

Legacy cringed as the man disappeared out the front door, "Back in a flash? Woah. That's terrible. Already starting with the dad jokes."

"No," Iris sighed along everyone else. "That's just…him."

Wally looked to the two teenagers, "You're going? Aren't you?"

"Duh," as soon as Legacy grabbed onto his shoulders, Impulse followed after his grandfather.

Wally groaned, "This has to be some kind of karma for what I put my parents through. I should probably go too. Uncle Barry isn't the best team player, and we don't know what the kids are capable of."

Iris gave her nephew a worried glance, "Are you sure? You haven't suited up since…well…"

"I'll be fine," Wally did his best not to snap. "I haven't slacked up on my training despite how things might look. Congrats on the kids by the way. And congrats on your anniversary, Jay, Joan. You two were an inspiration when…things got rough."

Jay gave him a look of compassion, "You sure that you're up to this, son?"

"Yeah. Don't need the other half of my soul to punch a baddie in the face," not liking the worried glances that he was receiving, Wally followed after the other speedsters to leave the house in a tense silence.

* * *

Miss Martian leaned down to lay the bundle of flowers down on a tiny grave marked with the name 'Garfield Logan.' Once the arrangement of flowers were set, she stepped back to examine the small memorial. A comforting arm found its way around her waist as La'gaan stood next to her among the trees of Mount Justice.

Lagoon Boy glanced over to his girlfriend, "You okay, angelfish?"

"I'm fine," M'gann mumbled. "Thanks for coming with me. I…didn't want to be alone when I visit him."

"I am glad that I could help," La'gaan smiled. "I always liked little green. It…is a shame that this happened to him."

"Yeah," Miss Martian leaned in close to the Atlantian next to her. "The worst thing is that he's just one of so many lives lost during the Blackest Night. He's been forgotten by almost everyone but me and Conner."

"Why is he not here then?" La'gaan huffed.

"I am here, jackass," Superboy moved up to the grave. He made sure to keep some distance from the couple. "Hey, M'gann."

"Hi, Conner," Miss Martian looked away.

Superboy moved to put his own bundle of flowers next to the grave. Unlike M'gann, he didn't step down away once he placed the arrangement down. Kneeling next to the memorial, Superboy ran his fingers over the name carved into the grave, "Hey, kid. Sorry that it's been a while. Been busy with the crazy alien stuff. I'm sure that you would have been helping to make the situation less terrible. It's not the same without you around."

La'gaan forced down the biting comment that danced on his tongue. He hated the tension that existed between his girlfriend and her ex, but there wasn't much that he could do about it besides be there the best he could for M'gann. Usually, he would get a few comments off on the Kryptonian, but this was neither the time nor place, "You, uh, two were really close to him, huh?"

"He was family. Blood, in a way," Miss Martian took a shuddered breath.

Superboy grunted, "Yeah."

The Martian finally turned her gaze back to her old lover. This situation felt like a divorced couple were mourning the loss of their child, even if their relationship to Beast Boy had been more like siblings than parents. Still, she could see the raw pain behind Superboy's stunning blue eyes. Despite his rough exterior, he loved harder than anyone she knew, "Conner, I'm so—"

Ringing from Superboy's phone drew the clone's attention to his pocket. Pulling out his communication device, he saw who was calling. He unhappily answered, "Hey, you know I'm busy. This better be something big."

A few seconds of silence passed.

Superboy jumped to his feet, "What do you mean time travelers?"

* * *

Black Bat finished off the last of the guards by ramming her fist down into his face causing his skull to bounce off the hardwood floor. Down the narrow hallway, Liam giggled upon seeing the violence, "Don't laugh, brat. You caused this."

"Oh, don't get mad her. She just wants to enjoy watching the fights," Ravager wiggled a finger at the baby. "Don't you? You like to see people get punched, future serial killer?"

Cheshire turned her child away from Ravager, "I told you that I don't want you around my daughter."

"Please, she called for the guards to see us beat them up," Ravager giggled. "She's already corrupted."

Sighing, Red Arrow stepped away from the women in order to get to the large door at the end of the hall. Despite the bumpy ending, he had finally made it. After years of searching, he found the original Roy Harper. He ripped the door open to find a tube containing young teenage boy who looked exactly like him, "Finally."

The women moved up beside him. While Roy was completely distracted by the goal that he wanted to achieve for five years, they turned the other two pods in the room. One held a deformed version of Superboy. The final pod made their heart twists in fear. Even Ravager seemed shook by the sight, "What the hell is that?"

A massive creature made of pure muscle and rock floated in front of them. The thought of trying to strike the gray skinned monster made them feel phantom pain from the harshness of the stones sticking out every inch of the creature. His jagged mouth was opened to reveal razor sharp teeth. A presence of death flooded off the weird mammoth. They were so engrossed by the sight that they jumped when a voice sounded out behind them, "That's Project Doomsday."

Cheshire and Red Arrow took defensive stances. Black Bat and Ravager remained calm, "Project Doomsday?"

Nyssa nodded, "The Light found that body years ago. They've been trying to find a way to revive and use it."

"Wait," Red Arrow's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Nyssa. Daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. Deliverer of your original self," Nysa introduced herself with a condescending tone in her voice.

"Daughter of Ra's?" Cheshire tilted her head. "Why help us then?"

"That's a weird question coming from you," Nyssa commented. "Just because he's my father doesn't mean that I'm loyal to him."

"So…you're on our side?" Red Arrow questioned.

"No. I'm on my side," Nyssa noted. "I do what will benefit me in the end. That's why you can take the boy, but that's it. The Light won't retaliate with him, but they will with the other two. They stay."

"Not like we want to take big, gray, and ugly," Ravager shrugged. "But even I know that it's not a good idea to let the Light keep him."

"Don't worry. I have a plan to get rid of him along with a member of the Light," Nysa stated. "Now go. I have to contact my father to inform him of what happened. If you stick around for him to boom tube over, then I would be forced to kill you, which I think would be rather awkward."

* * *

Legacy took a sip of the tea that she picked up from one of the now abandoned shops. She didn't feel that bad about stealing it as the person that bought it probably was never going to finish it. Floating through the air, she watched as Impulse and Flash rushed around while dodging red energy blasts from the walking space man at the center of the crimson bursts. A new wave of energy shot off of him before the previous shield faded, meaning that the speedsters couldn't get close. At the same time, they weren't in any danger of getting hit by such slow attacks.

Normally, she'd rush in to help. Impulse seemed so happy, though, so she let them have their fun. The area was evacuated already anyway. No one was in danger right now, and she couldn't care less about property damage. Although, it was a nice city. She couldn't help but admire the clean buildings. The past generations really knew how to build things.

After a few minutes, she noticed that the speedsters had stopped running. They had moved by a stopped SWAT van to talk with a police officer. She noticed that Kid Flash had joined them in his dark yellow uniform. As she floated down to them, she noticed that Impulse and Flash were talking at breakneck speed. The police officer appeared confused, while Kid was face palming.

"You getting any of this?" the officer questioned.

"Yeah. Sorry about this. Flash always tends to do this when he gets excited," Kid Flash sighed. "And now he has someone to enable him."

Legacy decided to interrupt the conversation by landing beside Impulse and slapping him upside the head. He groaned, "Ow!"

"You know everyone hates when you do that," Legacy rolled her eyes. "You and your dad were bad enough. I'm not dealing with this in the past too."

"Sorry," Impulse rubbed the back of his head.

"So we're creating a funnel to carry him out of the city?" Kid Flash questioned.

"Yep! Let's go!"

In unison, the three speedster rushed off at equal speeds. They immediately began to run around the perimeter of Neutron's shields. Bored, Legacy sipped her tea and addressed the officer, "Hey. Great city you got here."

"Err, thanks," the officer looked to her. "Are you…a ghost?"

"Yep. I'm new around here. Haven't registered yet. I know that there's some hard feelings about us spooks in this current time, so I hope this symbol makes you feel better," Legacy pointed to the DP on her chest. "Not technically official, but I got the genes to wear it."

"Huh," the officer suddenly looked to see the speedsters lifting Neutron off the ground. "They're doing it!"

"No," Luna finished her cup. Like with the apple from before, she disintegrated the plastic cup once finished. "They're making him angry."

Not waiting for the man to respond, Legacy floated into the air. She leisurely began to move towards Neutron, who was rapidly releasing more energy. Eventually, the power build up was too much for him. Just as the explosion was starting, the speedsters began to move away. Flash noticed her heading towards the core of the danger. He would have tried to stop her, but his fellow runners pulled him along despite his protest. Ignoring them, Legacy focused on Neutron exploding into an expanding crimson dome.

Just as the explosion was about to touch her, she extended her arm out. As soon as the energy hit her palm, it began to seep into her skin. Soon the energy dome was rushing towards her like water swirling down the bottom of the sink. Not the least bit strained, Legacy continued to push forward until she was right at the center of the danger. With the entire explosion under her control, she grabbed onto Neutron by the throat and carried him down to the ground. Once landed, she pointed her free hand up to direct the energy skyward. It flew high about the city where it exploded safely where no living creature could get hurt.

"Highfather have mercy, Neutron," Legacy sighed. "It's weird seeing you on mode as the Reach's meat. Hopefully, this makes things better for you."

Reaching into her pocket, Legacy pulled out the capsule that she brought from the future. She shoved it into Neutron's chest. He immediately cried out in pain as his powers faded. With her task now down, she dropped him unceremoniously to the ground. Grimacing, she turned around in order to avoid seeing the teenage boy completely naked after the explosion tore through his clothing.

Just as she turned, she was met with the speedsters. Flash gapped at her in shock, "How did you do that?"

"Phantom Family power," Legacy shrugged. "We're all overpowered in some way. Luckily, energy burst meat is like my specialty. Now can one of you get this guy some pants? A lady shouldn't be forced to see random penis."

"W-What happened?" Neutron muttered from the ground.

"We're not sure, son," Flash covered the teen in a blanket.

"It looks like it's over," Kid Flash examined Neutron with his heat vision goggles. "His heat signature reads normal human now."

"Must have sucked the energy out of him," Legacy shrugged.

"Why didn't you do that to begin with?" Flash questioned.

"You two looked like you were having fun, and no one was getting hurt," Legacy explained. She suddenly remembered her act. "But like when the baddie was going to blow up a chunk of the city, I totally had to step in. Now, can I visit my family now? Not that you guys aren't great, but I'd love to see Grandma again. You know, before she became a hardass."

* * *

Ra's frowned as he looked to the empty tube which once held the original Speedy, "What a waste. He could have been used for leverage, but I suppose you kept Match and Doomsday safe. They were definitely the more important assets. Well done, Nyssa."

Nyssa bowed, "Thank you, Father."

Sighing, Ra's held up a holographic devise to show the image of Lex Luthor and Daniel Fenton, "My apologies for the inconvenience this makes for you. I was the one that wanted to keep him alive. There's a high probability that he will come after you, Luthor."

Danny waved him off, " _Meh. It's not much of a problem. I can probably dissuade him before he even gets to Lex. And even if he does, I can sabotage him and recapture him."_

" _No, no,_ " Lex shook his head. " _There's no point in keeping him around anymore. But I can think of a way to make the most out of this. It could be beneficial to have someone like that on the other team to sabotage them."_

"Indeed," Ra's turned to look at Doomsday and Match. "This base is compromised, though. It would be best to move these two."

Danny stroked his chin, " _I really want to get to work on them, but now's not the time. Too much activity in my city. Let's wait until the heroes are properly distracted, then I can get our two greatest weapons to work for us."_

* * *

"Are you alright, Jennifer?"

Jinx blinked as the voice of her adopted father drew her attention back to reality. She had been idly playing with her dinner. Looking up, she spotted the scarred face of her fifty thousand year old ancestor, "Yes, Father. I was just thinking."

As always, Vandal Savage's face remained calmed and collected. He stared across the table to look at his only remaining relative, "And what has you so deep in thought?"

"It's about Fenton," Jinx clenched her fists. "Are you sure that it's right to trust him?"

"This again," Savage sighed. He glanced around the tiny dining room. Despite his great wealth, he preferred more intimate settings when having reunions with his family. As she grew, Jinx predictably spent less time with him, so he cherished these moments with her. "I've showed you every single strand of evidence that proved his loyalty, Daughter. He's completely one with the Light now. I know that you've had a complicated past with him, but you must realize that he's not the fourteen year old desperately trying to hold onto his parent's legacy."

Jinx bit her lip. She cursed Ember's powers for keeping her lips sealed on Danny's secrets. There was no way for her father to connect the dots between Fenton and Phantom if she didn't tell her. The Reality Gauntlet had seen to that when Danny used it to create a mental block in people's minds before he destroyed the glove, "I know. Call it women's intuition."

"Well, this obviously means a lot to you," Savage nodded. "I can't forsake him on your feelings alone. If I did then Queen Bee and Thorn would never let me live it down. To ease your concern, I will be willing to ask him to take in a pawn of my choosing to watch over him."

Jinx frowned. Would that even work? Ember might just confound them, "Okay. Keep an eye on him yourself too. He's not a stupid man."

"On that we can agree," Savage took a sip of wine. "Enough of this. Tell me about what's going on in your life, Jennifer."

"Nothing's really different," Jinx shrugged.

"Oh? No new friends?" Savage smiled. "Or boyfriends?"

Jinx rolled her eyes. Not this again, "Father, I've told you that I'm not interesting in dating right now."

"I know. I know. But the value of having someone you can trust by your side is immeasurable," Savage's eyes shined in sadness. "My last wife was…something else."

Jinx deflated for two reasons. The first was the reminder of what she used to have with Danny. Her second reason was the reminder of just how much her ancestor had lost. He was a loyal man whose heart and body never strayed when he was married. Eventually he might love again, but the pain of so many lost loved ones made moving on difficult. That was the reason he didn't try to have more children now, "I know, Father, but I'm young. I have time."

"True," Savage nodded. "That doesn't mean that I have to be patient about wanting grandchildren to spoil."

"Dad!"

"What? I'm an old man. I get to say what I want."

* * *

"Woah. Woah. Wait!" Spirit pushed Luna off from hugging her to death. "You're my granddaughter?"

"It looks like it," Nightwing examined the DNA analysis. "Her DNA matches yours as much as it can for the weird half-ghost genetics. Bart's matches up with the Flash's and Iris's as well. And this thing is giving off both zeta and chronotron radiation."

"Which is, based on pure theory what you'd expect to find radiating off a time machine," Kid Flash mentioned.

Flash placed a hand on Impulse's shoulder, "Which means you are exactly who you say you are."

"This is fascinating," Plasmius examined Luna. He had been given special permission to visit the Cave due to circumstances. "Halfa genetics are only theoretical at this point, but you confirm that the gene continues. It consumes the DNA of the other partner and uses it to amplify their abilities while adding diversity to the genetic sequence. This is great. Answers just when I need them for my son."

"Right. Great Uncle Jack," Luna nodded.

"Ha! Who's doing spoilers now!?" Impulse smirked.

Legacy blushed, "O-Oops."

"Jack," Plasmius stroked his chin in thought.

"Well," Spirit gave a shaky smile. "It's a bit weird to see my future granddaughter, but you seem nice. Um, how exactly does your age match up with Bart? I mean…I'm so much younger than Flash."

Legacy giggled, "Spoilers."

"Hmm," Cyborg examined the girl. He didn't see a bit of himself in her.

"Well, I would like to stick around to meet Great Uncle Joel and Great Great Grandpa Daniel," Legacy felt her heart drop as the sight of how young and full of life the current version of Spirit looked. "But I know that they're hard to get in contact with during this time. So we better go."

"Yeah!" Impulse grinned. "It's been crash! But the future awaits! I gotta run!"

"No," Legacy declared. "You are like not starting that."

"Ah," Impulse deflated a bit.

"Bart," Flash stepped up to his grandson. "Thanks for coming. I look forward to meeting you again for the first time. And watching you grow up."

Impulse beamed, "That will be crash."

"Come on. Back into the cramped time machine," Legacy pulled Bart into the capsule.

"So long!" he waved as they both squeezed into the machine. Everyone smiled as they expected the duo to disappear. Nothing happened, though.

"Uh," Cyborg tilted his head. "Is something supposed to happen?"

The door suddenly swung open so the two time travelers could pile out. Bart kicked the machine, "Not working. The whole thing's fried."

"Can you fix it?" Flash questioned.

"We're tourists. A lot of things got passed onto us, but the Fenton tech genius gene wasn't one of them for me," Legacy shook her head.

"So we're stuck in the stupid past," Impulse groaned. "We're so moded."

"We could take it to Axion Labs," Cyborg suggested. "No promises on a timeline, but if anyone could figure it out, it would be my dad and Danny."

"I guess we don't have a lot of options," Legacy mumbled. She looked to the other halfas. "Um, not to impose, but do you think that Amity Park could use another half-ghost superhero?"

"Are you kidding?" Plasmius grinned in complete joy. "We never turn away family. You can move in immediately. Vision would love having you around. Danny will be happy too. And it will be the perfect excuse to make Joel visit."

"Yeah," Spirit smiled at the newest member of the Phantom Family. "I can't promise to act like your grandma…my future self would, but we can totally hang out. I'd love to get to know you."

"That sounds so crash," Legacy smiled wider than she ever had before. Her grandma was alive and happy. She now had a family who wants her around them. And…her parents were still alive. They were on separate ends of the battlefield, but there was still a chance for her to be with them. Despite having a lot of work still to do, Luna felt content. This was the best day of her life.

* * *

(Wednesday-February 28, 2046)

Box Lunch took a deep breath as Luna and Bart moved into the time machine. She glanced around to see the final remainders of humanity around her, from the despondent civilians, to the surviving members of the Justice League, and finally the young teenagers watching their friends leave their lives forever. The strange mix of meta-humans waved to their friends. Robin. Aquagirl. Empress. Green Lantern. Supergirl. The final generation of Earth was lined up waiting for a reality where they might not exist. She could only hope that they woke up to a world where their suffering didn't exist.

As the time machine began to spark, Box Lunch snapped her eyes shut. Her husband clenched her hands supportively. A sense of mourning rushed over her as the only people she considered her children disappeared. She and Colin never had the courage to try to bring a new child into their messed up world. With her eyes closed, she couldn't see as Luna and Bart disappeared from her life. She couldn't bear to watch them go, even if the stupid brats were usually a pain in her ass. Despite blinding herself, she still felt the energy pulse which shot off from where the time machine just was.

"What?" Colin gasped.

Box Lunch slowly opened her eyes to see that nothing had changed about the planet. It was as dead as always. Now though, the two of them were completely alone. Above them, the moon was completely shattered into millions of pieces, "But…why? I thought that things would change."

"Lady, you can't even begin to process how this time travel thing works."

Both Box Lunch and Colin twisted around to see the owner of the new voice. They were shocked by what they saw, "Who are you? Some kind of Flash super fan?"

"Hardly," the muscular man muttered dryly. "I'm just a consequence of changing the time stream. One of many. That idiot Wally West didn't think things through all that great."

"It's not like we had a lot of options," Colin argued. "This was our last chance, and it failed."

"Not exactly," the stranger gained a large smirk. "Time is like water. You can't see what's under the surface until the ripples stop. Give Legacy and Impulse some time. They haven't stopped making ripples just yet. Time's weird like that. Make sure that you don't let go of that medallion, though. Who knows where you'll end up if you do."

"And why exactly should we believe you on any of this?"

"Hehehehe. What if I told you that I'm from an even farther future than this? And that despite being a selfish asshole with a grudge against the Flash, that I'm determined to save this world in order to keep myself existing in the timeline?" the man disappeared in a yellow blur. In a show of speed which could match the Flash, he appeared right in front of them. His inverted uniform of the scarlet speedster almost made him look like a walking banana. "My name is Eobard Thawne, but most people call me Professor Zoom."

* * *

 **My Beta** **jaguarspot is the absolute best.**

 **Zoom is the only storyline element that I never foreshadowed…because he didn't exist until now. I thought about working something in because he has been planned for a long time, but I couldn't figure out how it would work if he wasn't born to properly hint at him. So I just dropped him in here.**

 **I doubt any of you remember it, but 'fricassee' was used in Danny's bonding moment with Dick in Absolution. Drag0n5on reminded me of it, so I've brought it back to use as a curse word of the future…because why not?**

 **Recently, a person I admire told me that if I didn't show passion for my work, then no one else would. It really struck me, so I'm going to try to show that with my original work instead of shying away from it. So from now on, I'm going to have a tiny shill at the end of each chapter. If you like my fanfiction at all, please consider taking a look at Caged Demons: Entrapment on Amazon. I'm very proud of that story and want as many people as possible to read it.**

 ***SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR***

 ***SPOILERS***

 ***SPOILERS***

 **Loved it. The best way to describe it as a comic book in film format. They even did the right ending. Sure, it's pretty much set to be undone, but the visual of people pretty much being raptured away while begging for their lives was great. I even read from one of the screenwriters that Groot's last line while reaching out for Rocket was "Dad." And Spiderman. Holy cow. My theory is that they're going to reverse the roles in Avengers 4. Peter realizes that he came back at the cost of Tony. Spiderman holds Iron Man as he dies. Last words: "I believe in you, Peter. You can do it. Be better than me, son."**

 **My only nitpick might be that there was no Death considering how important she is to Thanos. Or a cameo from Stan Less as the One Above All. Could you imagine him showing up to chastise Thanos while stating that he's been watching this whole time as an in-universe explanation for the cameos? I don't know. Maybe I'm too self indulgent with these things.**

 **Speaking of Thanos...Hot damn. That's how you make a villain. My prediction that his relationship to Gamora would be the key to making him an all time great movie villain was spot on. If only DC could do this. Could you imagine Darkseid winning? Like...he gets the Anti-Life formula and uses it on the Justice League to make them his slaves? Maybe have him use Superman as a footrest as the ending shot, and then show after the credits Lex Luthor meeting with the "sidekicks" in order to plan some sort of counterattack? If only, right?**

 ***SPOILERS***

 ***SPOILERS***

 ***SPOILERS OVER***

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to…**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


	9. Greater Good

*IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT AT BOTTOM*

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"It is difficult for the common good to prevail against the intense concentration of those who have a special interest, especially if the decisions are made behind locked doors." Jimmy Carter

* * *

Chapter 9: "Greater Good"

(Tuesday-March 19, 2016)

 _Dani swung her arms around Victor and tucked her head into his chest. Unfiltered tears streamed down her face. She tried to say something, but her words were drowned out by her uncontrollable sobs. Her legs felt weak, but her boyfriend was fortunately there to hold her up. Eventually, she gave up on standing on her own to allow her lover to completely support her._

" _I know," Victor whispered. Tears of his own threatened to fall from his one original eye. "It's…It's going to…I know."_

" _I couldn't do anything," Dani trembled uncontrollably. She could feel the eyes of her teammates trying to avoid looking at her. They were all spread throughout Mount Justice while trying to hold back their own feelings of mourning. "I was right there, and I couldn't do anything."_

" _It's not your fault," Victor argued._

" _No! It is!" Dani gasped. "It's always the same! People I care about always die! It doesn't matter what I do! It's pathetic! I'm pathetic!"_

" _No you're not!" Victor sucked in a deep breath. "It's just…this life. We all know the risks. You can't put the whole blame on yourself."_

" _Yes I can," Dani muttered in bitterness. "But I can also blame her. No more of this. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm going to kill her."_

" _Dani," Victor mumbled._

" _I'm going to kill her," Dani clenched her teeth so hard that she thought that they would shatter. "Then, I'm going to keep this from every happening again. No more dead friends. Things are going to be better even if I have to drag this goddamn world behind me kicking and screaming to make it right."_

* * *

"Those three are going to end up our problem, aren't they?" Cyborg sighed.

"Not necessarily," Nightwing gestured to the holographic images hovering at the center of the Cave. "Bart, Impulse, is staying with Jay and Joan Garrick in Central City. Luna, Legacy, has been put in the care of her great grandparents. Roy, the original Speedy is recuperating at Royal Memorial Hospital in Star City. Arrows Green and Red are watching over him."

"That's a long winded way of agreeing with Vic," Spirit leaned against her lover. "The League is just going to throw them at us."

"Don't they do that with everything?" Superboy scowled. "I mean, where are we with identifying the Light's new partners?"

Nightwing massaged his aching temples, "No progress."

M'gann's giggles turned their attention to the entrance of the room. She and La'gaan were stepping into the meeting with a bowl of treats floating in front of them. Superboy's scowl intensified at the sight while his ex-girlfriend chastised her current lover, "La'gann, don't eat so fast."

Lagoon boy tossed another snack into his mouth, "I can't help it, angelfish. The idea of cooking crabs is amazing enough. But making them into little cakes?

Miss Martian smiled, "You're gonna choke."

"If only," Superboy muttered under his breath.

"Here," M'gann lifted one of the crab cakes for her boyfriend. "Let me."

La'gaan immediately swallowed the treat whole while smirking at Superboy, "If that's not true love, I don't know what is chum."

"Can we just start the briefing?" Superboy rolled his eyes.

Nightwing nodded, "OK, gamma squad, listen up. The mission's Cape Canaveral covert op to safeguard the first Earth-Mars com-sat. There are people out there who don't even like the idea of aliens and will do anything to scrub this launch."

"Hey," Spirt placed a hand on the distraught Miss Martian's shoulder. "Not everyone feels like that. Don't let overly vocal idiots get to you."

"Are we pressed for manpower?" Cyborg questioned. "It's rare for you to go on missions."

"Let's just say that after running this team for over a year I'm peckish for a little action," Nightwing grinned.

"Hmm," Spirit looked away with a concerned expression on her face. "Is this enough?"

"This is a pretty solid squad," Superboy argued.

"I know, but…I don't know. Just a gut feeling."

Nightwing shrugged, "It's all we got. Blue Beetle, Robin, and Wonder Girl have family obligations. Bumblebee has work to do with the Atom. Wally refused to get involved. And Dusk's group still refuses to take anyone's calls. This is everyone that we could get."

"Yeah. Never mind. This should be good. Maybe I'm just hungry. Hand me some of those crab cakes."

"Hey! Angelfish made them for me!"

"Come on! Share the love! We're teammates!"

"I made them for everyone, La'gaan. Don't worry. I can always make more."

"Fine."

* * *

Herald raised an eyebrow, "You want to get directly involved?"

Dusk nodded to all the people within the Royal Flush Gang's hideout, "This satellite is important. With more aliens popping up in the Milky Way Galaxy, having more help from the Martians can only be a good thing."

"Should I be insulted?" Starfire crossed her arms.

"No," Dusk shook his head. "You're another reason why I think that this is a good idea. It's been two months since you got here. With the heat dying down, you can start to show that you're on Earth's side. You won't exactly go public yet, but creating some good will is an excellent start. It can build up until you eventually have to go public."

Starfire smiled, "I was kidding. Of course, I will be glad to do the helping. Besides, I could use some fresh air."

"No offense, man," Red Hood spoke up. "But I really would prefer to stay out of this one. Nightwing's gonna be there, right?"

Herald nodded, "That is what I was told."

"Then no thanks," Red Hood returned to cleaning his gun. "I don't think I'm ready for any kind of family reunion."

"Uh hem," Black Bat crossed her arms.

Red Hood snorted, "You know what I mean."

" _I'm out too,"_ Gear spoke up from a monitor showing him in his room. _"The parental units have been getting pretty antsy with me after Virgil went missing. If I leave again, then my ass is grounded._ "

"I'd prefer to stay out of it as well," Black Bat commented. "I have my own meetings to go to. Rose is setting it up as we speak."

"That's fine," Dusk shrugged. "Young Justice will have plenty of people out there anyway. I don't need all of you."

"Well, thou still hast me, Joel," Troia smirked. "A full battle would be refreshing. Herald, do you know who's going to be there?"

"Nightwing, Spirit, Cyborg, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Lagoon Boy," Herald listed off the heroes.

"No Bumblebee?" Dusk questioned.

Herald sighed, "No Bumblebee. She's currently on project with the Atom. Don't worry. Our relationship crap won't get in the way."

"Oh! We get to work with your sister!" Starfire tried to direct the attention away from the tension. "How wonderful."

"Hehehe, wonderful isn't how I would put it," Red Hood examined his pistol. "You haven't seen what happens when more than one halfa goes all out. I always wanted to see all of them fight one guy at once, but with Danny…you know…it's not really possible anymore."

"It's still possible to have four half-ghosts fighting together, though! Make sure to ask the stink wads about that new halfa girl!" Gizmo suddenly interjected their conversation by flying in on a jetpack. "Her powers are fascinating."

"Thou art interested in someone outside your work?" Troia questioned.

"You kidding me? That girl acted as an energy sponge," Gizmo's eyes drifted off into space. "I wonder what her limits are. Is it just radioactive energy that she can absorb? What about magic? What about telepathic?"

"Ah," Dusk nodded. "I get you. Well, I'll try to sneak in some questions if I can."

"Or you could go home," Starfire suggested. "She's family, no? Why stay away from people who care about you?"

"You're talking to the wrong group," Gizmo mentioned. "We're all runaways. Even you, red. Sometimes going home to people waiting for you is harder than knowing that you're not welcome back."

"Woah," Black Bat blinked. "Look at you getting deep."

"We all have our moments," Gizmo shrugged.

Dusk turned away from his group. The arrival of the new halfa did intrigue him. From what he heard from Vlad's communication, she was from the future. That was something that was definitely on his mind. He shook his head. Best not to think about what she could tell him. Instead, he would focus on what Star had said. She was right. He had family patiently waiting for him. Once this was done, he would have to plan a trip home to catch up with the people he loved and get to know Legacy. Maybe it was time to let the fear of loss go?

* * *

"Great Uncle Jack like never really was a big part of the superhero biz," Luna walked with Vision through the halls of Masters Mansion. "He was more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. Working in the company. Only really helps out during emergencies."

"I see," Vision gently stroked her stomach. "It's good to know that he's safe in the future. Considering how difficult the lives of most halfas are, I thought that he would struggle though a lot."

"Nope. From what he said, his life was totally crash for the most part. Completely off mode," Luna shrugged.

"Lingo in the future is interesting," Vision commented. "Do you know how these 'crash' or 'on mode' started?"

"Not too much," Luna played with a strand of her hair. "Some of the old guys mention things, but I blank out a lot cause Highfather have mercy they're so boring. I think it has to do with a TV show or something…"

"Alright. That's understandable," Vision tucked the Highfather slip in to the back of her mind. "Anyway, thank you for going with me on my walk. Being pregnant is surprisingly boring in its limitations."

"It's fine. I love hanging out with family," Luna smiled brightly. "Speaking of which, what about Great Uncle Joel and Super Gramps Danny? I thought that they would pop in by now."

"They're…a work in progress," Vision noted as they approached Luna's room. "You'll see them soon enough."

"M'kay! That will be crash!" Luna pushed open the door to show her massive yet barren room. Only the necessities for the bedroom were already spaced out for her.

Vision sighed as she looked into the empty chamber, "Let's go shopping tomorrow for some furniture. You can pick out whatever you want."

"Crash!" Luna fist pumped.

"Go ahead and relax for a bit," Vision chuckled. "I'll call you when dinner is over."

"Sounds good, Super Great Grandma!"

"Err, just call me Vision."

"I can totally do that!"

With their conversation over, Vision stepped away from the youngest halfa. She borderline waddled through the halls at this point in her pregnancy. After she was out of hearing range from the newest member to their family, the ghost turned a corner to find her husband. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Vision could tell that he was deep in thought over Luna.

"She's a nice girl," Vlad mentioned. "Pretty good actor too. Not great, but still pretty good."

"Most people wouldn't see through it," Vision argued. "But her eyes…they show only pain."

"Whatever future she came from isn't worth going back to," Vlad summarized his realizations on the matter.

"And it's…one without our child in it," Vision stared at her extended stomach in fear. "Every word she spoke of him was a lie."

Vlad scowled, "She lied about her lineage too. Half-ghost DNA is complicated, but not impossible to decode given the right amount of time. While I can tell that she's not lying when she calls Danielle her grandmother, that's not how they're related. From my tests, I found that their actual genetic relation is that of a half-sister."

"Considering that one half of Dani's genetic code is dead and without powers, I'm going to assume that her father is Daniel," Vision stroked her chin in thought. "And…the pink highlights. The name associated with the moon. Her unbelievable power. Jinx has to be her mother."

Vlad nodded, "I already confirmed it."

"So she's your granddaughter," Vision stated. "And she's related to my father as well."

"Vandal Savage," Vlad growled at the name. After the conception of their child, Vision had opened up about the few secrets that she hid from him. Her status as one of Savage's children was one such secret. "I have to say, our family sounds pretty messed up genetically if you don't know the full story. I've impregnated two daughters of our family's greatest enemy. One of whom apparently had a child with my borderline stepson. Not to mention the clone and the spawn of assassins that was injected with halfa DNA. It sounds like something out of a terrible soap opera."

"No. The time travel aspect makes it worse than a soap opera," Vision lightly joked.

Vlad couldn't bring himself to laugh, "The last instance when time travel was involved, all of Daniel's family and friends died."

Vision looked away, "Yes, but it's not smart to push Luna into revealing too much. It could scare her away."

"I know. Don't worry. She's kin. No matter what future she comes from, I won't shun her," Vlad stared at his wife's pregnant belly in worry. "But we need to be careful to avoid an even worse future than what she comes from. Too much knowledge of the future tends to lead to problems."

Vision nodded, "We'll tackle this carefully. What of the heroes?"

"Nightwing is too busy to spend too much time focusing on Luna's lineage. He's pushed that task onto me," Vlad sighed. "I'll stall him as long as possible, but it's only a matter of time before he gets suspicious."

"Then we best prepare."

While the two adults were talking, Luna sat on her bed while staring at her empty room. Well, it was more like an empty castle to her. This one room was bigger than an entire block of houses on Remnant. Hell, the entire mansion could probably fit the entire city. What a strange time. So much space. So much food. So much peace. What did people even do with all this surplus?

Luna glanced to the side wall. In her old room, she just decorated with old drawings that she made, along with the fabled logo of the Phantom Family. She couldn't dress this place up like that though. Not yet. Vlad and Vision would get suspicious. More suspicious. She knew that they were smart people. They probably saw through most of her lies. Fortunately, they were also smart enough not to confront her about it yet. She still had time to speak with her father in private.

Standing, Luna turned her hand intangible so that she could reach into her own ghostly core. She quickly pulled out a folded up picture that she had drawn when she was still a small child. The younger version of herself stood on either side of her father and mother. They were all holding hands. They were all happy. They were all together.

"I'll make it happen," Luna leaned in to kiss the drawing of what she had dreamed of ever since she could remember. "Even if it kills me. I'll bring us together. I promise."

* * *

" _Joel," Starfire muttered as she watched her friend step away. Before she could move to follow him, Jason placed a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head to stop her._

" _No. He needs to be alone right now," Jason noted._

 _Starfire glared at him, "He is hurt. I should comfort him."_

" _Let him mourn his way," Jason's voice was surprisingly gentle. He glanced to his other friends to see them looking despondent. While Mal's face was struck with grief, Cassandra was doing everything that she could to hide her pain. "We all face loss differently. Give him some space. He'll come to you when he's ready."_

 _Starfire looked to where her first friend left, "Okay."_

 _As they spoke, Dusk had exited the hideout to fly high above the city. He rose until he was just above the clouds. Once satisfied with the distance he had created from the physical plane, he looked up at the shining stars above. He felt so close to space that he could reach out and touch it. Before he could reach the beyond, though, harsh reality would drag him down once more._

 _Tears began to roll down his face. He made no noises. His features remained stern. Only his silent crying gave away his sadness. The light of the moon reflected of the wetness on his cheeks. Clenching his eyes shut, he remembered everyone that he had lost in his short life. The loved ones lost to death flashed in his mind from his mother to the family that he lost today._

" _I don't even remember the last conversation we had," Dusk muttered. "I just…ran away and never talked to you again. You must have thought that I was a piece of shit."_

 _He knew that wasn't true. Most of his old friends understood his decisions. Regret was beyond logic unfortunately. Slowly, he reached under his hoodie to pull out Greta's necklace. He placed his lips to the cold metal and began to mutter how sorry he was. All he wanted to do was to run away, but he knew that he would be a coward to do so._

" _I'm so tired," Dusk stared up to the glowing beauty of the moon. His tears only increased as droplets fell from his chin. "Why can't this all just end? Why must so many good people die?"_

* * *

Superboy scowled as he sat at the front of the Bioship. He had just been deposited into the Martian vehicle by Spirit. They had just finished a press conference while he and M'gann disguised as Superman and the Martian Manhunter respectively. Luckily, his fellow clone had volunteered to carry him while invisible instead of having the Martian hold him up with her telepathy. He felt fortunate to have Spirit around to sympathize with his feelings. She even stripped him of the monkey suit Superman costume with her intangibility so that he could go back to the normal clothing that he had beneath the disguise.

"So what?" M'gann commented as she took her seat at the Bioship. "Are we never going to speak again?"

"Wow," Superboy muttered sarcastically. "You read my mind."

Spirit blinked at them, "Um. Maybe I should go."

"No. You stay," Superboy snapped. "Dani, you understand, right?"

"I…would rather stay out of this," Spirit fidgeted uncomfortably.

"No, Dani. He's right," Miss Martian glared at the ghost. "You 'understand.' He broke up with me, and now he's holding a grudge against me."

"I couldn't stay with you while you were abusing your powers!" Superboy glared at her.

"Abusing? I was fighting bad guys," M'gann gained an indignant look.

"Sure. By using tactics that are just as bad as theirs. You're just like Psimon," Superboy shook his head.

"I am nothing like him!"

"Yeah right!? How many people have you left in a coma since Beast Boy—"

"Don't you bring him into this! He doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"He has everything to do with this!" Superboy clenched his fists. "I know it hurts, M'gann, but he's gone! There's nothing we can do about it! Ever since he died, you've been in a downward spiral! I tried so hard to help! To understand! But how did you respond?! You tried to mind rape me!"

"It wasn't like that!" M'gann exclaimed.

"I know what your mental touch feels like! The feel of your fingertips on my consciousness used to mean everything to me! It was one hundred times more personal and intimate than anything physical! I gave you full access to my soul, and you tried to rip into it! You tried to change me!" Superboy's face twisted with emotional pain. "You. The person that I loved the most. There was never one thing about you that I would have changed. This is like if I ever wished that your true form wasn't a White Martian."

"Conner," tears began to form on the corner of M'gann's eyes.

"I loved you, M'gann. More than my own life. But how can I think that I mattered to you at all when you just gave up on me? You immediately jumped into La'gaan's arms like what we had was just a fling for you. Like you never…" Superboy took a shuddered breath. "Dani? What was I supposed to do? I couldn't take it. She just wouldn't stop. It felt like my mind was being…violated."

Spirit looked onto the situation with wide eyes. While she knew some of the details of their breakup, she never thought that it was this bad, "I don't…I guess the only comparison would be if I constantly overshadowed Vic to do what I wanted. It would be wrong."

"Why isn't anyone on my side, huh? How do you think that I feel?" Miss Martian was crying. "Gar is gone. My uncle left. The love of my life left me. All my family on Mars has straight up disowned me. Don't you understand, Dani? How much it hurts? I just didn't want to lose what I loved! I never meant any harm! I just wanted everything to be good again. And when Conner dumped me, I needed something, anything, to keep me going. And La'gaan is so wonderful to me. What was I supposed to do?"

"I…" Spirit felt conflicted. On one hand, there was no doubt that what M'gann tried to do was wrong. On the other hand, the halfa felt as if she might only be a few steps from truly being where the other woman was at emotionally. "I think that we should put a pin in this. Let me take Conner down to the ground force. Then I can come back up…we'll deal with this once the mission is done."

Superboy looked down, "Fine."

Miss Martian wiped away her tears, "Whatever. Just go. I need to get my mind prepped."

Grabbing onto Conner, Spirit lifted the other clone out of the ship so that he could take him to the tower where Nightwing and Cyborg were waiting. She would explain it without giving too much away of what happened. While they flew, Superboy spoke up again, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you into that."

"It's okay," Spirit gave a shaky smile.

Superboy shook his head, "It's not. This isn't your problem."

"It seems like a Team problem," Spirit noted. "So it's my problem. Don't worry. I'll fix this when the mission is over."

"I don't know if it can be fixed," Superboy looked out into the horizon. "Nothing short of dramatic change will make her see the truth. I tried everything. Stayed with her longer than I should have. Told myself that she was just having a hard time. That I should be there for her. But it got so hard. Leaving her was the last thing that I could think of."

"Hey. This is me we're talking about. I get shit done," Spirit grinned. "Even if it takes forever, I'll help you work it out. Until then, don't be afraid to come talk to me. Clones have to stick together."

"Yeah," Superboy closed his eyes in regret. "We do."

* * *

"None of you are going to go say hi to the other group?" Starfire blinked at her friends. "Are they not your friends?"

"They are, but we're in the middle of a mission," Dusk commented. "If we interact with them before the battle, Nightwing will try to direct us. I don't particularly feel like taking orders right now, and it will mess up their battle strategy. Best to wait until after for a catch up."

"If Lagoon Boy is below the water, then they must be planning a three part defense. Water, land, and air," Herald pointed to the different sections.

"Right. We'll back them up if they need us," Dusk gestured to the water. "As the only one here that's any good underwater, I'll help La'gann. It will be like old times."

"Starfire and I can alternate from helping on land and air depending on who needs help," Troia looked to the largest member of their group. "Mal, can thou handle aerial assistance?"

"If they fire any missiles, I'll sent them right back at the ships," Herald played with his horn.

"Then it's just the waiting game now," Dusk leaned against the rock that they were hiding behind for cover. They were further down the beach than the members of Young Justice. The shore led up to a large wall which would protect them from any flames released by the large rocket prepping for takeoff.

Wanting to keep the conversation going, Starfire looked to the rocket, "Earthling space technology is rather limited. I thought that with all the advanced technology that we saw all of you use that there would be more efficient ways to break orbit."

"There are," Dusk admitted. "A lot of it comes from tech powered by ectoplasmic energy. Which is related to ghosts. This launch is controversial enough without bringing ghosts into it. At least, that's what I would guess Danny's thought process would be. He volunteered to help with the project. He's really into space."

"Oh. I see," Starfire tilted her head. "Excuse me, but why are ghosts so controversial? I get that the concept of facing death can be a bit scary, but all ghosts come from humans. It a race war thing? I mean, they seem to be a more intense topic than aliens, and that loud TV guy never shuts up about aliens."

"No, it's…uh…"

Troia blinked, "No one ever told her?"

"No. I don't think anyone wants to tell a lot of stories about Earth's Blackest Night," Mal noted.

"Blackest Night? I think I've heard that a few times," Starfire rapidly blinked in thought. "What was it?"

Dusk sighed, "It was something that none of us want to experience again. Death came knocking, and it almost won. A lot of people died. More than a few were friends. I never want to have to go through anything like that again."

* * *

Spirit scowled as she flew through the air after dropping off Superboy. Fortunately, Nightwing allowed the change of plans. With her in the air, there would be more than enough support from above during whatever fight that the Light had planned. Despite the smoothness of the plan alterations, she couldn't help but feel terrible by what she had witnessed. While deeply invested the lives of her friends, she had never thrown herself into their romantic problems. While Superboy and Miss Martian's breakup was unexpected, she didn't try to talk Conner out of doing something that he was obviously dedicated on doing.

She never would have suspected that things were so bad. In retrospect, M'gann always was extremely liberal with her powers. Perhaps Spirit was just numb to the use of superhuman abilities? Most of her family used their ability to faze through walls at home. Maybe she was so used to mental links being thrown around that she didn't think about how her friend was using it? No matter what the answer was, Spirit didn't know how to go about fixing this problem. Was it even her place to intervene? How could she just ignore this, though?

"It's quite the problem you have, my lovely."

The halfa jumped upon hearing the familiar voice. She turned to see Thorn lazily floating sideways, "Thorn?!"

"Are you going to be shocked every time I show up?" Thorn rolled her eyes. "There are so many lessons to be learned. This is the perfect time for the third one."

"I'm on a mission, and you're a part of the Light," Spirit growled. "This is definitely not a good time."

"Of course it is," Thorn sat upright to place her chin over her palm. "At first, I was just going to skip talking to you this time, but then I heard what your little friends were saying. It was…disturbing even by my standards. Hard to believe that this Miss Martian is the hero. Leaving poor Psimon in a coma for years. Ripping the minds of Kroloteans apart. And…abusing a partner like that."

"I thought that you would have approved," Spirit accused.

For once, Thorn seemed offended, "Be careful what you say, child. I am many things. Some of those things could be considered terrible, but I would never abuse those that I claim to love. There's a reason that I never sought out Johnny. As things are, we might come to blows. Hurting him would be…distasteful to say the least."

Spirit slowly nodded upon hearing that, "I could never imagine taking advantage of Victor like that. If he let me use my powers on him to…um, make things interesting, taking advantage of that would be the worst thing that I've ever done."

"Exactly!" Thorn teleported into existence next to the younger woman. Her eyes shined intensely in the moonlight. "That's lesson three!"

"It's a lesson that I already know," Sprit argued.

"No no no no no no no!" Thorn rapidly shook her head. "You only half know! Tell me, what should be done to Miss Martian?! How must should she suffer for such egregious crimes?!"

"I…don't know?" Spirit looked her head down in shame. She knew what the answer should be. Rape was a taboo that was often avoided in the superhero community unless it needed addressing. There was an unspoken acceptance than it was a crime which stood at the top of the list of terrible offenses. Only murder seemed to contend for the top place besides it. Mental rape should rank equally as high.

"Foolish girl!" Thorn hissed. "Imagine if this was a man doing it to a woman?! Imagine if it were a foe doing it to a friend?! Would you hesitate then?!"

Spirit felt shame in the fact that she knew that Thorn spoke the truth. She had no response for her.

"You know the answer. To violate someone is awful enough, but to do it to the person that you claim to love the most? It's unforgivable," Thorn draped herself over the other ghost. "And do you know the worst part? He still loves her. I can feel the adoration in his heart for her. At least he managed to get away from her, but she still holds his heart and continues to crush it as she swoons over the Atlantian."

"Miss Martian has been through a lot," Spirit weakly argued. "She lost her brother—"

"And I lost my son!" Thorn face twisted with anger. "You don't see me trying to change Johnny into what I want him to be. How can you claim to love someone when you try to fundamentally morph them into something else? That's just loving the idea of someone. I may do terrible things. Seduce. Break hearts. Leave wanting. Kidnap. Maim. Torture. Kill. And so much more, but I let the Light know that things like this were the one thing that I would never accept. They agree with me. If the greatest criminal organization finds this unacceptable, what does that say about you?"

Swallowing a large lump in her throat, Spirit spoke once more, "And what do you suggest? What is the lesson?"

"Women like Miss Martian are the worst," Thorn whispered. "They must be punished to the highest degree."

"I won't kill her."

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm not suggesting that. Death is too good for her. Everything she loves must be taken from her. She must feel every single pain that she has ever caused to those who have given her unconditional love. She must be broken on a fundamental level. Then she will be forced to live a long life knowing exactly what she has done."

"What do you mean?"

"The first lesson was how to use your words and influence. The second lesson was how to best use your appearance to your advantage. The third lesson is…" Thorn held the other woman in place as rockets began to rise out of the ocean. "Those who do not deserve what they have must be stripped of everything. Love. Power. Happiness. Such is the fate of anyone who abuses their loved ones. It's the only true justice that you should ever believe in."

Before Spirit could respond, Thorn manipulated the space around the halfa to teleport the other woman away into a dimensional pocket. It would be best if the girl sat this battle out. She would just get in the way. Turning to glance at the Bioship in the distance, Thorn frowned. She could start a fight with M'gann the natural way, but that would begin their feud in the wrong light. No, it would best to do this the right way. The villainess directed her gaze to the ground and sea where the battle had truly begun. Yes, she would make Miss Martian be the one to start the fight.

* * *

 _Luna knew it would happen. Despite all the lies she told when confronted about it, she knew that this was a death day. One of many that she had hoped to prevent. Bart had been adamant about trying to insist that they be put on the mission. He thought that they could do something. She knew better. Nightwing was no fool. Plasmius did not let his guard down easily. Everyone was watching them. If they gave even a single hint that they weren't who they said that they were, then everything would have been for nothing. Insisting on being on a specific mission before gaining their trust would give them away instantly, and the course of history would change._

 _It was cold of her. If they knew that she had knowledge of this, then she would have been scorned and beaten. Hell, if it had been someone she cared about, she would have done the same. Fortunately, she didn't know anyone from this time. They were all just names in history books to her. For the sake of the future, she had to make hard choices. Some people had to die for the sake of humanity's future._

 _Still, it wasn't easy to pretend that she was just a clueless little girl in all this. Many of the heroes eyed her in scrutiny through their tears. Bart shot accusing glances at her. She forced her own tears out while moaning that she didn't know the compete history. It was all a mistake according to her. Eventually, their anger transitioned back to their own grief, allowing Luna to sneak away._

 _If she were honest, there was another reason that she had to allow this to happen. This event would trigger most of the choices that she could predict. There was no way to know how this would affect the timeline, especially with her father. It had to happen for the greater good. Those thoughts made her feel dirty, but there was no helping it. This had to happen. Or at least that's what she told herself as she watched the younger version of the woman who raised her begin to sob uncontrollably._

" _Everything will work out," Luna whispered. "It has to."_

* * *

The battle began with the missiles rising out of the ocean. Miss Martian began to stop the attacks by intercepting them with blasts from the Bioship's weapons. While the alien dealt with the aerial attacks, dozens of Black Manta soldiers stepped onto the beach with their blaster guns ready. Superboy met them by crashing down on the beach. While their invincible tank ran through the gunshots to meet the fighters, Cyborg and Nightwing assisted him from a distance in order to avoid being hit by any stray energy bullets.

While Superboy easily began to plow through the soldiers, the second wave of fighters arrived from below the waves. They were led by the combined force of Black Manta and Red X. Ignoring the clone fighting the spares, they stepped further up to the beach in order to get close to the space ship. While Red X held up a bazooka, Black Manta had a rocket launcher jump out of his shoulder. Surrounded on all sides, Superboy couldn't make it in time to intercept them.

Cyborg intercepted their attempts to blow up the ship with blasts from his sonic cannon. Knowing that they could no longer stay back for support, the metal man used his jetpack to carry Nightwing to the battlefield. As soon as they landed, they separated in order to fight back against the villains. While Cyborg moved to combat Red X's advanced battle suit with his own technology, Nightwing rushed to Black Manta with his battle batons ready.

Knowing that the Fenton combat armor was better at close up combat, Cyborg tried to keep his distance. Smaller rockets launched from his shoulders towards the seemingly female fighter. Red X showed her combat prowess by easily jumped around the flying bombs. She then moved in to try to cut up the robot man with her extended X blades. While not the strongest hand-to-hand fighter, Victor was able to avoid most of the slices at his torso. The few hits which got in managed to cut up his arms, but he stayed active long enough to force his foe to retreat by using his arm sonic cannon.

While the youngest fighter on the beach used his superior technology to gain the advantage in combat, Nightwing relied on his superior skills to push back Black Manta. Red laser beams shot out of the red lenses at the front of the villain's helmet. Batman's protégé was forced to duck and weave to barely avoid getting hit by the energy bursts. When he was up close to the ocean themed villain, Nightwing used his superior combat prowess in order to push back the other man. Growling at being quickly overwhelmed, Black Manta continued to use his laser eyes in order to keep Nightwing from getting in a finishing blow. While unable to hit the stealth master, Manta avoided being knocked out by the Gotham hero.

Further back in the beach, Superboy struggled against the superior numbers of the enemy. While he could easily toss the foot soldiers around like they were nothing, he had a difficult time fighting them all off when he wasn't their target. If they all swarmed him, his superior powers could easily keep them in check. Instead of uselessly trying to take him out, they attempted to rush past him in order to get close to the rocket ship. Growling, Conner did his best to knock every fighter off their feet. Those which slipped past him were toppled when he threw other soldiers at them. Eventually, his policy of not killing and permanently maiming his foes got the better of him when the battalion managed to push past him.

"Thou looks like thou needs some assistance!" Troia landed down beside the Kryptonian. She used her Lasso of Truth in order to take out the fighters which slipped past him.

"Troia!" Superboy choke slammed two of the enemy down onto the sand. "What are you doing here?!"

"We decided to give thee some assistance," Troia pointed up. "Look."

Starfire floated above the battlefield. The orange skinned alien alternated using her starbolts between helping the Bioship with the missiles which continued to rise from the ocean to knocking back any soldier which got past the ground force. Superboy whistled at her show of power, "Glad she's on our side!"

"Indeed! But no time for gratitude!" Troia kicked a foe away. "We've got work to do!"

'Miss M, link us up!' Nightwing commanded.

'Done.'

'Woah!' Starfire's voice sounded through the mental connection. 'This is strange.'

'You get used to it,' Mal appeared in the air to help with the missiles. He created portals which began to leak water but sent the rockets back from where they originated.

'I'm not even going to ask what you're doing here,' Nightwing noted. 'I appreciate the help, but Lagoon Boy needs backup too.'

'That's already handled, Nightwing,' the familiar sound of Dusk echoed through the minds of the heroes.

* * *

Lagoon Boy laughed as he used one of the manta soldiers as a shield, "It has been a while, minnow!"

"Minnow?" Dusk swung his pendulum nunchaku at the nearest target. "Since when am I minnow? If anything, I outrank you."

"Not since you left the Team!" Lagoon Boy chucked a few of the enemies away. "I am now on top, chum."

"Then you better not slow me down," Dusk rushed towards the submarine rocket launchers.

"That should be my line!" La'gaan followed after the halfa.

Together, the two heroes pushed through the defensive force in order to try to get to the missiles. The bombs continued to fly off, but assistance from Mal stopped some of them from breaking the surface of the water. The rockets which Herald had returned rammed into the other explosives to cause contained bursts in the water. While Mal could possibly return the missiles to the ships, the peaceful fighter probably didn't want anyone to get caught up in the chain explosion that would cause. Instead, the two underwater fighters were forced to deal with the ships manually. Fortunately, Black Manta appeared to have left only the small fry to protect the rockets.

"I would say that this is like old times," Lagoon Boy rammed into one of the missile launchers to destroy the targeting system. "But we do not exactly have a good record underwater together."

"Don't remind me," Dusk used Soul Shredder to cut apart the other ship's firing system before another rocket could be fired. When they were done, they were left in the quiet ocean. Unconscious bodies and broken metal floated all around them. "That was too easy. Did the Light really think that would be enough?"

Lagoon Boy looked around, "Backup might be coming—Woah!"

"La'gaan!" Dusk cried out in shock as his friend was pulled through a portal. The vortex soon disappeared. Before the halfa could question what happened, Thorn appeared beside him. While he did put up his guard, he was still sent flying back by the massive burst of ectoplasm from the woman's attack. "Thorn! What did you do with Lagoon Boy!?"

"Tucked him away for safe keeping. Can't let little miss mind rape have her backup boy toy, can we?" Thorn smirked mysteriously. "By the way, you were right. This was too easy. That's because it was all a distraction."

"Distraction?" Dusk blinked when he heard a large explosion in the distance. Looking up through the water, he could see that the satellite had blown up as it was trying to escape orbit.

Thorn giggled, "You lose, Joel. Now for the other boy toy. Best to deal with this one more permanently. Put him out of his misery."

"Wait!" before Dusk could do anything, the woman teleported away once more. Cursing, he rushed to the surface to try to figure out what was happening.

* * *

The heroes had thought that they had won. All the ground enemies had been held back. Both the air force and the underwater fighters had successfully dealt with the missiles. Every vigilante of justice smirked in triumph as the space ship began to rise into the air. Before they could bask in their victory, the satellite exploded into a ball of fire which burned away all of their hopes.

Every battle stopped as the sight of the explosion. Nightwing looked on with wide eyes, "How?! The ship had been checked multiple times!"

Red X chuckled. Yes, the rocket had been searched many times for sabotage. Every inspector had been under Danny Fenton's payroll. They didn't need to know that, "Looks like the mission's over. Your orders, sir?"

Black Manta nodded, "Retreat! There's nothing more for us here!"

"Thou really thinks that we will just let thee go?" Troia scowled.

Starfire landed beside the Amazonian woman, "Not a chance."

Superboy nodded, "Even if the satellite is done for, we can still capture Manta and retrieve the Red X sui—Ah!"

Thorn sent the three powerhouses flying by appearing between them in a large burst of ectoplasm. She then caught the Kryptonian by the throat before he could get too far. Taking advantage of the distraction, the remaining forces of the Light rushed back to the ocean in order to fulfill the retreat orders. Holding up Superboy between her and the other heroes, Thorn ignored her fleeing comrades. Instead, she smiled as the clone's friends rushed to help him. They would be too late.

"I am sorry about this, but to see a broken heart beyond repair makes me feel really sad," the air around Thorn's arm began to distort as if reality was being twisted around her. "I'll put you out of your misery, Superboy."

Before Conner could do anything, Thorn shoved her fist forward towards his chest. Everyone gasped as Thorn's supernatural abilities allowed her to shove her hand right through his seemingly impenetrable skin. Time seemed to stop as blood began to pour down onto the golden sand. From her position flying down from the Bioship, Miss Martian screamed in heartbreak.

"Superboy!"

* * *

" _Superboy!"_

 _Superboy stared down his chest in horror. He rarely bled. Now, that was all he could seem to do. Crimson liquid poured out of his torso. Reaching up, he clawed weakly at Thorn's arm. She leaned in to whisper directly into his ear, "I'll see you soon, Kon-El."_

 _Satisfied with her work, she teleported away with a twist of air around her. With nothing to support him, Superboy collapsed backwards into Spirit's waiting arms. She seemed to appear just as the older woman vanished. Her face twisted with horror as his blood spilled over her body. As gently as possible, she lowered him to the ground, "Conner? I…I don't…"_

 _Conner tried to say something but only managed to gasp desperately for air. He looked pleadingly up at her. His vision was quickly filled with his friends. Those from the Young Justice squad and those from the outside group all watched in terror. They were all trying to say something, but he couldn't make out their words. Spirit tried to close the wound on his chest. His injury was far too extreme though. He could feel that his heart had been pierced._

 _Feeling his vision begin to fade, he looked over to focus on M'gann. She was covering her mouth with her hands. Tears streamed down her eyes. He tried to say something to her but couldn't manage to move his lips correctly. In response, she reached out mentally. Like in the days of past, their minds gently melded together. Even with how their relationship had been tainted in the end, Superboy found comfort in her mental embrace as the light faded from his eyes._

' _Please don't go.'_

' _I'm sorry.'_

' _Don't be sorry! Just stay with me!'_

' _I…can't…'_

 _Memories flashed through his mind. Learning about the world in a tube. Waking up to young heroes invading Cadmus. Joining Young Justice. All of their struggles. All of their losses. So many friends gone. And now it was time to join them. It was time to see Beast Boy again._

' _Be…better, M'gann.'_

' _Conner, please!'_

' _I love you.'_

 _Then there was nothing. Miss Martian stepped back as the force of a mind disappearing caused extreme mental backlash. She collapsed to her knees and began to despair. While M'gann accepted the truth, Spirit refused. She cauterized his wound and began to give the dead body CPR, "Live! You bastard! Live!"_

 _Stepping beside his sister, Dusk gently reached out to touch her shoulder, "Dani."_

" _No!"_

" _Please. It's over. He's gone."_

" _NO! NOT AGAIN!" Spirit finally gave up. She screamed up to the sky in grief. "WHY?! WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"_

 _Dusk began to cry as well, "I…don't know…"_

" _AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! CONNER!"_

* * *

"I should probably apologize for my rudeness, Lex," Thorn gave a rare bow of the head towards the holographic image of Luthor. She stood by Black Manta and Red X to give their report of the mission. "I probably should have asked before I killed your genetic son. My apologies."

" _It's not like he ever viewed me in such a light_ ," Luthor mentioned uncaringly. " _He hasn't been any use to the Light for a long time. Better to deal with him now. I must ask though, what did he do to draw your ire_?"

"It was nothing that he did," Thorn crossed her arms. "I am displeased with the Martian. I wish to strip everything from her as punishment for her crimes."

" _Now that is something that I can get behind,_ " Queen Bee smirked. " _Out of all the children, she's been one of the largest pains. What are your plans?_ "

"I'm not really a long term plan type of person. We'll see when the time comes," Thorn shrugged.

" _The time might approach faster than you might think. Everything is now in place for our next move. The children and the League will be busy licking their wounds. We will need to take advantage as soon as possible,"_ Savage interjected. " _We will need to go over our plans as soon as Daniel can be with us."_

"Where is our esteemed colleague?" Black Manta looked to the empty space which should have held the Brain's replacement.

Red X spoke up, "The boss has appearances to keep up. Remember that he has to fake relations with the so-called heroes. With the vigilantes in mourning, now is the perfect opportunity to take advantage. In the guise of faking sympathy for his old clients, he will be able to sneak into Mount Justice to hack into their system. When that is done, we will have the key to taking down all of our next targets at once."

* * *

Danny gasped for breath as he rapidly punched the bag in front of him. With each hit, the hanging equipment swung wildly with loud creaks. All around him were dozens of different workout machines packed into his rather small training area. The former halfa was completely covered in a layer of sweat. His shirt was off to reveal a torso constructed completely of muscle. Each movement caused the veins popping out of his shoulders and arms to twitch.

After losing his powers, Danny had trained many hours to make up for his weakened form. No matter how hard he pushed himself, he never came to close to the superhuman abilities he had even in his human form while a halfa. Nevertheless, he continued to push himself to the peak on a normal human. His tech would make up for the lack of superhuman abilities.

While the hardcore training was a normal routine for Danny, this workout seemed different to Ember as she stepped into the room. Instead of his normal focused gaze, his eyes shined with conflict. A constant grimace twitched from his mouth. The skin of his knuckles was completely peeled to leave his hand a raw and bloody mess. Despite the obvious damage to his hands, Danny did not relent. He continued to punch the bag with everything that he had.

Stepping up to him, Ember swung her arms around his torso. Ignoring the sweat rubbing up against, she gently pulled him back. He tried to fight to continue to punch the bag but couldn't overpower the ghost. Eventually, he gave up swinging his arms in favor of standing silently. After he surrendered, Ember reached up to grasp his hand. The blood trickled from his knuckles to her palm.

"It's okay," Ember whispered.

Danny shook his head, "It's not."

"No. It is. Everything will work out. You have it all planned," Ember soothed him.

Tears began to mix with the sweat on their face, "My family is hurting, and I played a part in it."

"It's better than the alternative," Ember lightly kissed his spine. The salt of his sweat lingered on her tongue. "Someone has to get their hands dirty. You can do this. Keep going down this path, and it will all work out. We'll make it work out. We'll make sure that we win."

Danny desperately clutched at her hands, "Conner was my best friend, and I took him from everyone. They're in so much pain. The people that matter to me are hurting because of me."

"They can hurt a little now so that they won't have to suffer even more later."

"I-I can't do this alone. Please, Ellie. Don't leave me. If you're not by my side, I'll crumble."

"I won't leave you again, Babypop. We're stuck together," Ember felt tears of her own form upon seeing the strongest man she ever knew finally begin to break after losing so much. "I'll keep you going. I promise."

Danny stifled a sob, "Thank you. I…I'm doing the right thing, right?"

"You are. It's all for the best. I believe in you."

Danny nodded, "It's all for the betterment of mankind."

* * *

*IMPORTANT NOTICE*

Like my fanfiction work? Please consider reading my original work which will be updated **EVERY WEEK** on my Fictionpress account. I'm extremely proud of my work and would like to share it with you. I feel extremely unsatisfied with trying to sell books in my free time, so I decided to go down a different route. _Links are in my profile page._

Monday- The P.R.I.D.E.F.U.L.

The journey to reaching one's true potential is a harsh road full of failure. For April, her decision to better herself through diligent training is made all the more complicated when criminals, crazy people, and a string of tragedy gets involved, but what else could she expect from getting involved with a supernaturally strong boy claiming to be the Rage of the P.R.I.D.E.F.U.L.?

Tuesday- Caged Demons series

Entertainment has become engrossing to the point that people literally upload themselves into their games. On the day when hundreds of thousands of players excitedly jumped into the newly updated Paradisus, what was once a distraction from life becomes a harsher reality than anyone has ever known.

Wednesday- Dragon Skin

Perception was supposed to be a gift, but when people begin to notice things that they shouldn't, life tends to get complicated. This was what Eli figured out the day the that he saw his first dragon. Now with the elite of the supernatural world wanting to enslave him, a young man with sharp eyes has to adapt with his new reality while learning that freedom is always paid in blood.

Thursday- Sleep Jump

Dreams often feel like being transported to another world. While the new reality eventually ends for most people, some exceptional few find that the journey doesn't end so quickly. Sam has long since lost track of the number of new lives that he...she...it...they have jumped to every time that consciousness is lost. Not even death seems to end the curse of the sleep jump.

Friday- In Heart and Mind

Thrust into a situation that he doesn't understand, a desperate father must work his through a city full of monsters, soldiers, and crazy people in order to save his daughter from a terrible demise. With each passing moment, he begins to question everything that he understands to be good and true as the Hive Mind responsible for the insanity corrupts every aspect of his existence.

 **Yep. Going to let you read it all for free. Truth be told, I'm not a 'MUST MAKE ALL THE MONEY' kind of guy. I want as many people to read my work as possible, and I spent the summer working on being able to keep up with this kind of schedule. Got the hang of it along and moved on to adding my fanfiction to the work load too. Will it work? Who knows. The idea has been jumping around in my head since I wrote my first book. So forget about buying Caged Demons. It will be up there on Fictionpress for you to read on a regular basis. Full disclosure, I'll probably put up a P_a_t_r_e_o_n or P_a_y_p_a_l ( _woah, this site doesn't like those words_ ) for my original work by the beginning of next year when I show that I can keep up the schedule of quality updates. I spend a lot of time working on my writing and have bills like everyone else. Not planning on cussing anyone out over it, but I want to spend my life writing. So why not?**

 **Oh. And when I do try to plead for money, _it won't be on here_. Fanfiction is for fun and practice. My belief is that no one should make any money off of other people's work. All I will do from now on is give updates on my original writing. _REPEAT: IT WON'T BE FOR FANFICTION._** ** _I WILL NOT ADVERTISE IT AT ALL ON HERE._**

 **SERIOUS STUFF OVER!**

* * *

 **Getting close to the mid-way climax. "Darkest" and "Before The Dawn" will be fun.**

 **As you can tell, I did not like how the original series handled M'gann. I'm going down a different route.**

 **So...Spider-Man came out on PS4. With my intense schedule, it took my three weeks to finish (which delayed this chapter a bit). Not perfect gameplay wise. Puzzles kind of suck. Most of the stealth missions without Peter are pretty boring. But the swinging. And the fighting. And the story. Excellent.**

 **As always, big thanks to my Beta jaguarspot.**

 **Thank you all for reading and please remember to…**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


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